The Key to One's Soul
by SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan
Summary: A sweet story inspired by Serenity Silence Little Neji always wondered about the Caged Bird seal. So, he figured if his dad was in a cage...that there was a key that could set him free. Little did he know about the real Key to One's soul...
1. Chapter 1

The Key to one's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

(Inspired by Serenity Silence)

"Daddy Neji, what's that on your forehead?" Little Neji looked up in curiosity.

Neji just smiled at his Chibi's questioning expression. He loved the life in his eyes when he was curious. They reminded him of someone he knew.  
It's the Caged Bird Seal." Neji simply said. He didn't feel like going into that topic today, but he wasn't one to get his way.

"What does it mean, daddy?" He stood up to try and poke his forehead, but he fell on Neji's chest.

"It means that I have to the serve the Main House members." He said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "I have to do everything they say or else." Neji pulled his Chibi up on his feet again. "I'm like a bird in a cage."

"So if I don't have a seal…" Little Neji thought out loud. Suddenly, he got an idea. He then spread his arms, ran really, really fast, and jumped off the bed. However, the small Chibi landed on the floor with a small 'thunk!'

"Ow!" He then picked himself up and looked at his Chibi owner confused.

"What the hell was that for?" Neji asked, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Um, since I didn't have a lock on my forehead, I thought I could fly." Little Neji jumped and flapped his 'wings'.

"Just because it's a called 'the Caged Bird seal' doesn't mean that people without it can fly." He snickered.

"Oh. Well that's okay, Daddy Neji." Little Neji smiled. "Because I'm gonna help you find your key!

"Huh?" Neji quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm going to help you help you find your key. So then you won't be a Caged Bird anymore. You'll be a free bird." The small Chibi looked deeply into his Chibi owner's pale eyes.

You don't have to do that for me." Neji said.

"But I want to." He snuggled in his Chibi owner's shirt. "I'll do anything to make you happy."

"Thanks, Chibi-chan." Neji smiled a genuine smile. He rubbed his Chibi's hair gently.


	2. Chapter 2

The key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

_"...I'm gonna help you find your key!" _

_"Huh?" Neji quirked._

_"I'm gonna help you find your key. So then you won't be a Caged Bird anymore." Little Neji looked deeply into his Chibi owner's pale eyes. _

_"You don't have to do that for me." Neji said. _

_"But I want to. Anything to make you happy." Little Neji hugged his Chibi owner... _

____________________________________________________________

Little Neji was one to keep his promises, especially with his Chibi owner. So, when he promised his Chibi owner he was going to find his key, he meant it: literally.

And he knows the smartest person who can help him.

"Hey, Little Shika!" Little Neji called. He crawled through the hole in his fence.

"What?" Little Shika snapped. 'You're cutting into my nap time." He mumbled, trying to make himself comfortable in an abandoned foxhole.

"My Daddy Neji is stuck in a cage, and we need a key to set him free!" Little Neji told him.

"Keys?" Little Shika crawled out of the foxhole. "Why didn't you say so? I know a troublesome somebody that has a lot of keys!" The usually bored Chibi popped up on his feet. "Let's go!"

{Kiba's Dog kennels}

"Hi Kiba-san!" Little Neji called as he entered Kiba's room.

"Hey there you rapscallions!" Kiba rubbed the two Chibis' heads.

"What's up?" He then grinned a devilish grin.

"Shika-maru!" [We need keys!]

"Huh?" Kiba quirked. "What for?"

"My Daddy Neji's in a cage, and he needs to be set free!" Little Neji exclaimed.

"Um…okay. What kind of keys do you need?"

"All the keys you've got!" The pale-eyed Chibi smirked.

Kiba then sighed and handed him the keys.

"Alright, but make sure you-" Before he could finish, the two Chibis grabbed the keys and make a break for it.

"- return them?"

{Tenten's House}

"Shikamaru! Shikamaru!" [Tenten-san! Tenten-san!] Little Shika yelled as he crawled through the doggy-door.

"What?" She walked out of the kitchen, only to see Little Shika and Little Neji stepping around some senbons.

"Hi, Tenten-san!" Little Neji waved.

Tenten smiled a big smile as she walked over to pick him up. "Hi, baby!" She then gave his a big smooch on his right cheek. "What are you up to?" She asked.

"Uh...oh yeah!" Little Neji woke up from his quick daze. "Daddy Neji is in a cage, and we need to set him free! So..." Little Neji looked down sheepishly. "May we borrow some of your weapons please?"

"Sure you can, ice cream! Take as many as you need!" She put him down.

"Okay! Thanks, Tenten-san!" Little Neji then spotted a kunai he had accidentally stepped on. He picked it up and placed it in his pocket. He then picked up a katana right next to it. Then he picked up the giant shurriken on the left of it.

"Little Shika," He spun around. "Grab a shopping cart, because we're going to be here for a while."

"Shika-maru!" [Yes, Sir!] He then pulled a huge waste bin out of nowhere and saluted.

{Hyuga Mansion Site}

Neji Hyuga was getting ready to lie down after a long day of training. He really had a lot on his mind, and he wondered if telling his Chibi about the Caged Bird Seal was a good idea. He doubted it, and walked into his room.

"Shikamaru!" [Shadow Possession Justu!] Shouted a certain voice. Neji then found himself frozen, unable to move.

"Hey! What the-" Little Neji then threw a cloth over his Chibi owner's nose.

"What the...heck...is going...***thud!***" With that, Neji collapsed on the floor; asleep in the fetal position.

"Well...now that the knockout powder has done its job," Little Neji pulled out Kiba's keys. "Let's free my Daddy Neji!"

{20 minutes later}

"Shika...Shika- Shikamaru." [Um...Little Neji, I don't think this is working." Little Shika sighed.

Little Neji was growing frustrated with the keys as well. He was trying to jab them into his Chibi owner's seal, hoping that one of them would be the key. But alas, no luck so far.

"Maybe...*gasp!* Maybe these keys aren't strong enough to free daddy Neji!" He turned over to look at Little Shika. "Little Shika, bring out the heavy artillery!"

"SHIKA-MARU!" [YES, SIR!"] Little Shika then pulled out the many kunai, shurriken, senbons, katanas, and swords they had picked up at Tenten's house.

"Alright-y! Now let's go ahead and try…this one!" Little Neji pulled out the first weapon he had picked up at Tenten's: a golden shaded kunai. He was about to insert it into his Chibi's owner's seal; when all of a sudden:

He woke up! ***Dun! Dun! Dun!* **

Now if you were Neji and you woke up only to see your Chibi about to insert one of your best friend's kunai's into you forehead; you would definetly percieve this as an awkward situation.

"Little Neji..." Neji looked up at the shiny kunai, and then at his Chibi.

"Um, daddy Neji, this isn't what it looks like..." Little Neji sweat-dropped.

_**"Little Neji..."**_ The now angry shinobi growled.

"We were just trying to free you from your cage!" Little Neji yelled.

"Shika! Shika, Shika-Shikamaru." [Yeah! I mean, the keys weren't working.] Little Shika suddenly interjected.

Neji took the kunai out of his Chibi's hands and sat up. "Little Shika?" You were helping him?" He asked, surprised.

"Shikamaru! Shika-Shikamaru. Shika, Shika?" [Yeah, baby! Logic and logic gotta stick together. That's how we roll; right, Little Neji?"

"Damn straight!" Little Neji and Little Shika high-fived each other.

Neji smirked at the two's antics.

"You know, when I said I was in a cage, I didn't mean it literally." Neji smiled.

"Then, how did you mean it?" Little Neji crawled up on the bed. Little Shika followed him.

"Well," He wrapped his arms around the two. "It's hard to explain, but I don't want you two to be worrying about it. Okay?" He looked into their eyes.

"*Sigh!* Okay, daddy." Little Neji rolled his eyes jokingly.

"Now that's better." He smiled.

"But, doesn't that mean that we'll have to return Tenten-san's weapons?"

"Yes it does."

"_Shika_-maru?" [_All_ of them?]

"Of course!"

"AW, MAN!" Both Chibis moaned.

Neji laughed at the two. _"They make quite a pair..." _He thought.


	3. Chapter 3

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 3: Genie in a Bottle! (Sort of)

_"You know, when I said I was in a cage, I didn't mean it literally." Neji smiled. _

_"Then, how did you mean it?" Little Neji crawled up on the bed. Little Shika followed him. _

_"Well," He wrapped his arms around the two. "It's hard to explain, but I don't want you two to be worrying about it. Okay?" He looked into their eyes. _

_"*Sigh!* Okay, daddy." Little Neji rolled his eyes jokingly. _

_"Now that's better." He smiled. _

_"But, doesn't that mean that we'll have to return Tenten-san's weapons?" _

_"Yes it does." _

_"__Shika__-maru?" [__All__ of them?] _

_"Of course!" _

_"AW, MAN!" Both Chibis moaned. _

_Neji laughed at the two. "They make quite a pair..." He thought._

* * *

After that incident, Little Neji decided to leave finding his dad's key alone. However, after a few days something kept on stirring inside of him:

_"If Daddy Neji's not stuck in a cage literally, then what does he mean?" _

{Chibi Camp Daycare}

Another day at the Chibi Camp Daycare: 'Where we treat your Chibis here with the most upmost care! _Even Naruto Uzamaki!_'

And as usual, no one except Iruka was living up to their expectations, which made it such a normal day. However, enough about the unreliable staff...

"HEY!"

Sorry Iruka-sensei! Anyway, let's fast forward to the game of hide-and-seek that our fellow Chibis were playing, where the majority of our story takes place.

{Little Neji's point of view}

"1..3..7..9..1,894,903...17...23...69..." I could hear Little Sauske counting off in the distance.

"Man, I sure hope he doesn't go to Chibi kindergarten with those skills." I chuckled. I ran into some bushes trying to make sure I was in a spot that Little Sauske couldn't spot me. I leapt into the trees and started to leap through them. However, I guess some of Daddy Neji's fate rubbed off on me this morning.

***SNAP!* **The branch beneath my feet snapped.

"_WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAH!_" I plummeted onto a small oak tree, which snapped as well. I then tumbled down a dirt path with many twists and turns. By the time I finished rolling down the dirt path, I had no idea where I was.

"Where the hell am I ?" I looked around trying to figure this mess out. _"How could something as innocent as hide-and-seek turn into something like this?" _I thought.

I then saw something shiny sticking out of the ground. At first, I thought it was nothing important, but curiosity got the best of me. I tried to pull it out, but it seemed stuck.

"Nngh! Come...on..." I finally pulled it out, falling on my back. The item looked like a...blue glass bottle.

"Hey! I remember Daddy Neji reading me a story about bottles! The story said that some bottles are magic." I picked it up and brushed some dirt off the bottle. "And if you rub it..." I rubbed the rest of the dirt off.

"That you might find a magic genie inside!" There was a seal on the bottle. I shrugged my shoulders, built some chakra into my palm, and...

"KAI! (RELEASE!)" I released the seal, and a flashing light exploded in my face. I was blown back into a tree by a blinding force.

"AWWWWWWW, MAN! THANK KAMI! I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE THE BRIGHT SUN AGAIN!" A voice called out. After the dust settled, I saw who (or what) he was.

The clothes of a Sanin, a toad at his side, an Icha-Icha book sticking out of his pocket...

THIS WAS A MAGICAL SANIN GENIE!

"WOW!" I squealed, "A real-life magical sanin genie! Awesome!" I looked up at the genie. "Um, excuse me mister?"

"One thing for sure, I'm never going to mess with Anko ever again. Who'd thought she knew a thing or two about seals?" The genie brushed the dirt off of his clothes. He then looked at me with a curious look.

"Why, hello there!" He smiled.

"Hello there, _you_." I winked back at him.

I thought I saw him shudder, but I wrote it off to the Indian winter breeze.

"So, Mr. Magical genie…I know we can ask for any 3 wishes we want, but to tell you the truth-"

"Woah, woah, woah, kid! Wait half a second! You think _ i'm_ a genie?" The genie looked at me kind of funny.

"Um, yeah."

The Sanin Genie shook his head sadly, which was a very bad sign. "I'm sorry, kiddo, but i'm no genie. If you haven't noticed; i'm _A Sanin_." He then summoned a medium-sized toad.

"B-but you came out of a bottle!" I stammered.

"Yeah...that was Anko's doing."

"B-but y-you were in the ground." My eyes started to water up.

"How the hell I got washed up here, well, i'll leave that to _your _ imagination."

My eyes were starting to spill over with tears. "So, that Icha-Icha book isn't a bok cover to disguise your magical secrects and whatnot?" I tried to blink the tears back, but they fell anyway.

"Sorry, kid. This is 100%..._research_." He winked.

"But..b-but...I ONLY HAD ONE WISH! ONE DAMN WISH! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" I wailed at the top of my lungs.

The not-real genie looked at me with concern. "What was your wish?" He sat down beside me in the soft green grass. _ "He might not be a real genie, but at least he cares." _ I thought to myself.

"I wish...I wsh I could find the key to free my Daddy Neji from his cage." I breathed.

"Huh?" The sanin irked.

So then I told him about my Daddy Neji telling me about his Caged Bird Seal, and how I wanted to set him free, and about what Little Shika and I attempted to do. He laughed when I told him it took us about 20 minutes to figure out that the keys weren't working.

"Then he said that he wasn't stuck in a Cage literally. So now I can't figure out what he means." I sighed.

The Sanin looked down in thought, taking in all the info I had given him. After a while, he looked back at me, a small twinkle in his eye.

"You know, mabye his key isn't something he can find or use from the outside world. Mabye his key is like something within him." The Sanin pointed to himself.

"Huh?" I thought out loud. "My Daddy Neji has all of his body parts. He hasn't donated a kidney, blood or anything else in his entire life before. He's given chakra before, but that was only once or twice; and that was only in an emergency." I told him. "What could he see in his guts that he's never seen before?"

"Ah...sometimes, there is always more to what you see than what you see. And there is always something more to words than the basic interpretation. Now remember that, little one." The Sanin patted me on my head, as if he was passing some knowledge through me.

"Really? But please...explain more!" I wanted to learn everything I could about the wise man's words.

Suddenly, his watch rang. He stood up and smiled at me a smile of regret.

"I'm sorry, Chibi." He sighed. "I wish I could, but I have an appointment that I'm probably 2 weeks late for. See you round, 'kay?" He then hopped on the toad that he summoned earlier. I then watched the Sanin's toad hop away; carrying my false hopes with him.

I sighed, then picked up the blue glass bottle. Somethijng about it just seemed so...important. I don't know why, but I just couldn't bear to part with it. I could hear the wind whispering the same words the Sanin had told me.

_there is always more to what you see than what you see...there is always something more to words than the basic interpretation..._

I put the bottle in my back pocket with a renewed hope in those words. Now this would make a great story to tell!

But maybe, just maybe, there was some sense to the Sanin's genie-like words.


	4. Chapter 4

The key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 4: The problem with the saying ' seeing is beleiving'

"I'm telling you, it's true! I did see a magical genie! A magical SANIN genie!" Little Neji ran to catch up with his friends.

"Yeah right Little Neji. As if dried up geezers like him are really magical." Little Sauske scoffed.

"I dunno, guys." Little Naruto trotted on all fours and walked beside his pale-eyed friend. "Maybe Little Neji really did see a genie. Or at least a Sanin. Who knows?" Little Naruto sat down and wagged his tail.

"Thanks Little Naruto. At least you have my back." Little Neji rolled his eyes at Little Sauske.

"Oh yeah? well I'll believe that sanin pop out of bottles the day you believe in America and Jesus Christ!" Little Kiba smirked. Tiny Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Well I don't need to believe in either of those things 'cause they're not real!" Little Neji stuck his nose in the air.

"Fine. We just won't believe you." Little Kiba and Little Sauske walked away with their noses in the air.

"FINE!" Little Neji yelled back. "I don't need you to believe me, or listen to me, or help me comprehend...magic words." Little Neji turned around bitterly. Then he glanced back at his friends. He really did want them to believe him. He sighed, taking full responsibility and blame for what would happen for doing this.

"Do you guys really not believe me?" Little Neji asked.

"Gee, I dunno Little Neji. do you believe in other places and a Messiah?" Little Kiba quirked.

Little Neji gulped and breathed in slowly. "Yes." He mumbled. "I believe in America."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnd...?"

"And I believe in Jesus Christ." Little Neji murmured.

"What was that friend? I didn't hear that." Little Kiba smirked.

"I SAID I BELIEVED IN GOD-FREAKIN'-CHRIST AND AMERICA! GOSH!"

"It's Jesus Christ-"

"I DON'T FREAKIN' CARE!" Little Neji stormed away from them "I bet they don't even believe me. They're probably just making fun of me and-" .

"Hey Little Neji! Wait up!" Little Naruto ran to catch up with him.

Little Neji decided to sit down on a rock. As he waited for his true friend to show up, Little Neji felt a small spark of hope return to him.

"Sorry Little Neji. Little Kiba has a bad habit of driving everyone around him crazy. Sometimes it makes me wonder." Little Naruto nodded his head in shame. "Anyway, I believe you, Little Neji. After all, my Daddy happens to know a particular perverted Sanin who prows the streets of Konoha." Little Naruto smiled.

"Thanks, Little Naruto. At least you believe in me." Little Neji sighed.

{At the training grounds}

In the meantime, not too far away from the Chibi Camp Daycare, Neji was thinking about his Chibi. He was lying on his back in the soft grass, exhausted from training. He tried to get up, but a voice stopped him.

"Neji, don't overwork yourself. You know what happens when you do that." A female voice called out to him.

"Don't worry Tenten. I'll be fine." Neji tried to sit up, but Tenten reached out her hand and stopped him.

"You said that last time, and you ended up passing out. And then I had to carry you all the way home." Tenten reminded him playfully.

Neji blushed. "Hn."

"*Tee! Hee! Hee! You shouldv'e seen your Uncle's face. He looked at you, then he looked at me, then he looked at you again. The he got a W.T.F. look and asked 'What did you do to my nephew?' "Tenten laughed.

Neji loved to hear Tenten laugh. Her laughter was contagious, and he found himself smiling in no time at all.

Tenten's gaze shifted towards Neji. With hair the color of ink, porcelain colored eyes, and a nice looking body, she had to admit he looked very...well, _sexy_.

"Tenten." He called out to her.

"What is it, Neji?" She moved closer to him.

Neji sat up and pulled Tenten into his arms gently. He cupped her chin and pulled her in for a soft but passionate kiss. All of a sudden, the world around them melted. The sky, he sun, the soft green grass. Nothing mattered anymore, except the love they had for one another.

"I love you, Tenten." He murmured on her lips.

"I love you too, Neji." She whispered, and kissed him back.

{Evening at the Hyuga Compound: Little Neji's P.O.V}

"Hey, Daddy Neji! I forgot to tell you something!" I exclaimed. I was telling my Daddy Neji about my day at Chibi Camp. Sometimes I think I over elaborate, but that's okay with my Daddy Neji.

"What Little Neji?"

"I found a magical Sanin genie! Or at least I thought I did."

"Oh really?" My Daddy Neji sat down next to my bed. "Just like the one in the stories I read to you?"

"Yep! He came out of a bottle, Daddy!" I squealed.

My Daddy Neji laughed and picked me up. Cradling me, he asked, "Did he grant you three wishes?"

"No." I said. "But he did say some very magical genie words."

"Oh really? What did he say?"

"He said: sometimes, there is always more to what you see than what you see. And there is always something more to words than the basic interpretation." I looked up at my Daddy Neji. "Do you know what that means, Daddy Neji?"

"It means that sometimes things aren't always what they seem to be. You have ton look a little bit closer." My Daddy told me.

"Oh really?" I said. "That seems simple enough. Thanks Daddy."

My Daddy Neji put me down on the floor. "Good. I'm glad you understand. Now let's go to the kitchen to check on our lagsana." He smiled.

"Yay! Lagsana!" I jumped up to follow my Daddy Neji. His food is just as great as his advice, after all!


	5. Chapter 5

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 5: See with your heart, not with the mind

"*Yawn!* Goodnight, Daddy Neji!" Little Neji yawned sleepily. After two plates of my famous lagsana, one or two games of Yatzee, and a tickle contest(me being the winner, of course) he was pooped.

I tucked him in gently, and bent down to give him a kiss on his forehead. "Goodnight, Little Neji." I rubbed my finger through his soft, thick hair.

"*Yawn!* Good...night." He was out as quick as a candle in strong wind.

I could feel myself smiling. He looked so peaceful while he slept. Speaking of sleeping, someone wasn't. I could sense someone stirring. There was someone wide awake not too far away from the Hyuga compound. For some reason, I didn't need my Byakugan to tell me who it was. I just felt it.

I turned back to take a final glance at my Chibi. He didn't look like he was going to wake up anytime soon. So I grabbed a blanket and a pillow, quietly opened my window, and jumped out swiftly.

After all, I didn't want to keep my visitor waiting, did I?

{Outside the Hyuga Compound}

Not far from the Hyuga Compound, a chocolate-haired kunoichi was waiting. She had chocolate brown eyes that matched her hair. However, her hair wasn't pinned up in the usual buns that she wore. She wore it down, letting it flow past her shoulders and down her back. As for her kimono, it was a glossy gold, with red and pink pointsettas decorating the soft fabric.

A familiar presence filled the atmosphere. The first instinct that overcame the kunoichi was to pull out the shurriken that was hidden in her kimono somewhere. The second instinct was to relax and welcome it. She allowed the second instinct to take over. Soon, a set of warm arms wrapped around her waist.

"Tenten." A masculine voice uttered her name.

"Neji." Tenten turned around to face her secret boyfriend.

Before she could say anything more, Neji caught her in a very chaste kiss. Tenten matched him in just as much passion. When they finally released, the two had glazed, faraway looks in their eyes.

"I love you, Neji." Tenten whispered.

A cold wind whipped through the air, causing them both to shiver. Neji pulled out the blanket and pillow that he took from his room and laid it on the grass. The two then sat down and cuddled up rather quickly.

"Don't you worry that Little Neji might wake up and discover that you're not there?" She asked.

"He's a heavy sleeper. Besides, I haven't been caught yet." He chuckled. "Anyway, how's Teddy-Bear-Tenten doing?"

"Oh, she's fine. She grows cuter by the day." Tenten laughed. "Can you believe what she asked me yesterday?"

"No, I can't fathom what. What did she ask?"

"She said: 'Mama, you know when you fall in love, right? Do you fall and skin your knee? 'Cause I don't wanna fall in love if I get my knees skinned in the process.' "

They both laughed at the Chibi's innocence. However, Neji couldn't help but notice Tenten's eyes falter a bit.

"Tenten, what's wrong?" Neji asked.

"Oh, nothing." She blushed. She felt a bit ashamed to be lying to Neji, but she just didn't want him to worry.

"Tenten, something is wrong. Now what is it?" Neji gently chided.

"Sometimes, I get tired of skinning my knees the deeper we fall in love, Neji. It's like the deeper we fall, the more it hurts because...because of your clan."

"I know, Tenten. But we're not giving up." Neji ran his fingers through her chocolate-colored hair. "You told me once that there was no such thing as Fate; and that you can truly shape your own Destiny. You taught me that, and i'm going to follow through with that." Neji gently kissed Tenten's lips.

"Thanks, Neji." Tenten smiled.

_'He truly is an angel.' _Tenten thought.

The two then fell asleep under the stars, their arms wrapped around each other.

{Morning in the Hyuga Compound}

"Nng...Daddy...*yawn!* Neji?" Little Neji awoke to the chirping birds and to the Naruto-colored sun. It was so bright that he wouldn't have been surprised if a Chibi Naruto with shades were plastered on the sun singing: Naruto! [Good Morning!]

However, Little Neji looked side to side for his Daddy. Normally, he would be waking him up in order to have breakfast. But as for some reason, his Daddy was nowhere to be found.

"Huh? That's weird." He said to himself.

Suddenly Hiashi strolled right in without knocking, whistling a happy tune. "Hey, Little Neji." He **genuinely** smiled. "Where's your Daddy Neji?"

"I don't know. He would've woken me up b now." The Chibi shrugged his shoulders.

"Daddy Neji?" Little Neji called out. "Da-ddy Neeeeeeeeeeejiiiiiiiii?"

As if on cue, Neji leapt right through the window that he left open last night.

"Hey Daddy Neji! Where were you?" Little Neji asked.

"Oh, I was just out for an early walk." Neji picked up his Chibi and lifted him in the air. Little Neji squealed with excitement.

"And you left and came back _through the window_?" Hiashi quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I didn't want to disturb anyone who was sleeping."

"_Riiiiiiiiight!_ Anyway," Hiashi decided to change the subject. "Neji, I would like you to meet someone. She's the daughter of the Kagè in the land of The Rolling Stone. She's really nice, and-"

"Gee, I dunno, Hiashi. I have a lot of stuff to do today." Neji sighed.

"Like what?" Hiashi asked.

"Well, I have to return those library books that Little Neji and I checked out two weeks ago. Then I have to get some new weapons to replace my bad ones, and after that-"

"Neji, you will do **exactly** what I tell you to!" Hiashi scolded. Then he glanced towards Little Neji. "I mean, after all, it's for the good of the clan."

"Daddy Neji, do you really have to go?" Little Neji pleaded.

"Yeah. I'm afraid so." Neji sighed.

"Can you still drop me off at Day Camp?" The disappointed Chibi inquired.

"Sure. I guess I could."

"Actually, Little Neji will be staying with me today. After all, I want you to meet her as soon as possible." The Hyuga Head smirked.

Little Neji shuddered. He knew what that smirk meant whenever it was directed at him. He didn't like it one bit.

"Oh, alright." Neji put his Chibi down and rubbed his hair. "Now, you be good for Hiashi-oji-sama. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy Neji." Little Neji then whispered in his Chibi owner's ear. "But, do I really have to go with him?"

"Yes, Little Neji. Don't worry, though. I'll be back as soon as I can." Neji gently pushed his Chibi in front of Hiashi.

"That's right." Hiashi said. "Now come here, little Chibi."

Little Neji looked at his Daddy Neji, then at Hiashi. He sighed heavily and trudged towards his Grand-Uncle.

"*Sigh!* This is absolute torture." Little Neji sighed.

{Somewhere in the Hyuga Compound}

"Alright, Little Neji. Time for your _treatment_." Hiashi pulled a old, rusty cage from under his desk. He pulled out a key that was just as old and rusty as the cage itself. He opened it and reached out to grab Little Neji.

"Um, Hiashi-oji-san, do we have do this anymore? I mean, it's really unreasonable, and-"

"Look!" Hiashi yanked the Chibi by his elbow. "You're not messing up the clan's chances of getting the biggest hook-up we might ever receive. This girl's father is RICH; and if you do anything to ruin that just like all of the other chances you ruined," Hiashi gave him the infamous Hyuga glare. "Then the Hyuga Elders and I will make sure that you and your 'Daddy Neji' are punished _dearly_"

Hiashi then tossed him in the cage, slamming the cage door as he snickered.

"Of course. It's always about the money, isn't it?" Little Neji rolled his eyes.

"Shut up."

"Apparently, already being filthy rich doesn't exempt certain people from greed. Seriously, it's people like you who give us Hyuga a bad name."

"SHUT UP, and wise up little man."

"Well, i'm not the one who's acting a fool, am I?"

"I SAID..." Hiashi then smoothed out his robes. "You know what? I'm not gonna respond to that. Instead," Hiashi picked up the cage and opened up a closet door. "I'm going to lock you up in the closet."

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes! You're going to stay in there until I feel like getting you out." Hiashi then tossed Little Neji in.

The cage went flying, hit the ceiling, bounced of a wall, and landed upside-down on a stack of rusted kunai-knives.

"Ow! That hurt!" Little Neji yelled, trying to get out of an awkward position.

"Well think of it this way, no-gaki. When you get over your fear of the dark; you'll have me to thank for it." The Hyuga Head gloated sarcastically. He then slammed the door, leaving the poor Chibi all alone in the dark.

"Stupid old man...that's why he smells like poop and old people."

"HEY! I HEARD THAT!" Another door slammed, signaling that he was gone.

"*Sigh!* I remember when Naruto-san said to: Look with your heart, not with the mind." Little Neji spoke out loud

_"If only Hyuga would learn to see with their hearts. Just like Daddy Neji and Naruto-san." _


	6. Chapter 6

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 6: Busting out and crashing a date? Woo-hoo!

Little Neji had now been in his cage for what he guessed was about 30 minutes. To be completely honest, he was surprised; considering that Neji's dates didn't last this long. They only lasted around 15 minutes. Not unless Hiashi was there, of course.

"Then again," Little Neji sighed. "That dense freeloader they're trying to pass for a damsel or whatever probably has my Daddy Neji pinned down as I speak!" Little Neji gasped. "I have to get outta here!"

Little Neji tried his best to get out of the cage, but only succeeded in swinging it off the kunai it was hanging on.

*CRASH!* The cage flew straight off the kunai and smashed into some rusted needles.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Little Neji cried as his feet continued to be pricked by the needles. They were rusty; but strong enough to poke through the bottom of his cage.

"Gee. I wonder if this is what Daddy Neji means when he says he's in a cage. 'Cept that maybe he means it \emotionally…" Little Neji gasped in surprise. The Sanin's words hit him in the head like a ton of bricks.

"OF COURSE!" Little Neji squealed. "When Daddy Neji says he's in a cage, he means it emotionally!" Little Neji smacked himself in the head. "How did I not catch that before?"

"Hello? W-who's there?" A small, soft voice stammered.

"Yeah! Don't even try hurting Little Hina-chan, because if you do, I'll hurt you!" A louder voice sounded.

"I don't think Little Neji is here, you guys. Maybe we should just check in the-"

"Wait!" Little Neji shrieked. "Don't leave! I'm still here!"

"Little Neji?!" Whoever was out there apparently heard him.

"_Good thing they did too."_ The clear-eyed Chibi thought. _This closet's starting to get a little bit stuffy." _

"Don't worry, Little Neji! We'll get you out of there!" A girl's voice sounded in panic.

"Wait? Teddy-chan, is that you?" Little Neji asked.

"Yeah! Now just hold on!"

Several thuds hit the door. Turns out they were Chibi-sized kunais and shurriken. Little Neji was kicking at the bars of the cage. He didn't want his friends to see the torture that he endured just for the sake of the Hyuga Clan. He was able to find a huge gap between two bars. The Chibi squeezed through the bars in time, just as soon as the door came falling down.

{Little Neji's P.O.V}

Sure enough, Teddy-Bear-Tenten was at the other side of the door. Little Naruto and Little Hinata were also there as well.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked them. I had no idea that Teddy-chan was coming over to play today.

"Oh, well Little Naruto and I came over to play with Little Hinata. One of the maids freaked out and started throwing grits at us though, so we had to make a break for it." Teddy-chan seemed to sweat drop at the incident.

Little Naruto looked down in shame.

"Hey, don't feel bad Little Naruto-kun. It's not your fault that people judge by your looks according to something that happened _18 freakin' __**YEARS **__**AGO!!!**_" Little Hinata screamed.

Everyone in the room gave her a 'W.T.F' look. Heck, i'm pretty sure that some of the Hyugas might have sensed it.

"Okay...let's just agree with Little Hinata before she loses it." I said.

"We all agree!"

"Great!" I smiled.

"Little Neji, what were you doing in that closet?" Little Hinata asked.

"Um..." I was at a loss for words.

"Who knows? From the looks of things, he must of been looking for some Chibi kunais." Teddy-chan smiled.

"Yeah! That was it! I was looking for some needles, but all I could find was those rusty ones. After that, I got stuck in some flypaper." I lied.

"Anyway, that's not important. The point is, Hiashi oji-sama is trying to set my Daddy Neji up with some..."

"Floozy?" Little Naruto quirked.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed. "None of those girls are close to being good enough for my Daddy Neji, but all they care about is the money." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, there's only one thing left to do." Teddy-chan smiled.

"What's that?" Little Hinata asked.

"We have to..." She leaned in and smirked, her Teddy-like ears twitching with anticipation. "Crash their date!"

"*Gasp!* That...that sits with me very well." Little Hinata grinned.

"Yeah. I like it...I like it." Little Naruto wagged his fox-like tail.

"Well so do I." I nodded my head. Then I thought of something. "What about the Hyuga Heads?"

"What about them? They're just a bunch of old fools who lead this clan in more darkness than Little Sauske's closet." Little Naruto made a *tsk!* noise. "You're not afraid of them, are you?"

"They can be Notorious sometimes; but anything for my Daddy Neji!" I stuck my hand out.

My friends stuck in their hands over mine.

"3...2...1...LET'S DO THIS!"

{In the Hyuga Gardens: Neji's P.O.V}

Here I am, sitting somewhere in the Hyuga Gardens: **not wanting to be** **here **by the way, in an overly pollinated area, and with a girl that's not even as bright as a light bulb. I can't believe Hiashi is making me do this. He might say that this is for the good of the clan, but I don't believe it. Out of all of the beaux he's picked out for me, they've either been filthy rich or of some high status in this clan.

"It's always been for their personal gain." I accidently spoke out loud.

"Hee! Hee! Hee! What did you say, _Neji-kun?_" The floozy they were trying to pass of for a girl purred at me.

Turn out, here name was Akemi. She was okay looking, but the makeup kind of ruined that effect.

"Hey, I know," Akemi scotched closer to me. "Let's cuddle."

"**N-NO**!" I exclaimed. It came out a lot louder than I intended it to.

"Why can't we, Neji-kun? Don't you like it when pretty girls touch you?" Akemi asked me.

_"Who're you trying to fool? You're no image of beauty!" _I thought.

"Well that depends on if they're really a girl; and from the looks of things, you ain't a girl!" A voice shouted from behind the bushes.

"_Huh? Who was that?" _I thought.

Well, I guess Akemi was as dumb as she looked because she looked at me like **I** said it.

"*Gasp!* Neji-kun!" She shrieked.

"Gosh, you're just as dumb as you look!" Another voice rang out.

"Yeah! That, and you smell funny." A third voice rang out.

"Neji-kun...I HATE YOU!" Akemi ran away crying.

"Akemi...wait! That's not me!" I tried to call her back, but by the time I called out to her. She was so far away though, that she couldn't hear me.

"Alright, guys! The coast is clear!" A Chibi's voice sounded. Four little Chibis slid down a bamboo stalk and leaped off.

"Little Neji? What are you doing here?" I asked him. I looked to the side, only to notice Little Hinata, Little Naruto, and Teddy-Bear-Tenten beaming with pride.

"What are they doing here?" Now I was really confused. I rubbed my fingers through my hair.

"Oh, we're here for a playdate with Little Hinata. Your maids are crazy, by the way." Teddy-chan mentioned.

"Naruto." [Yeah, and she's not just being random. Take it from me.] Little Naruto shuddered.

"Yeah. Anyway, aren't you glad we got rid of your _date_?" Little Neji smirked.

"Couldn't have you done that in a nicer way? I mean, I'd hate for Hiashi to find out about that. It won't go down well." I sighed.

"Don't worry Daddy Neji. After all, what's the worst they can do?" Little Neji ran up to me and threw his arms around my legs.

_"A lot._" I thought to myself. I decided not to worry my Chibi about it, though. So I said, "You're right. What _is_ the worst they could do?

{Later in the Hyuga Clan}

"So Akemi, how was your date with the Neji Hyuga?" The Hokagè of the Rolling Stone asked his daughter.

"IT WAS HORRIBLE! He didn't even listen to me, he was a total jerk, and he didn't even contribute to the conversation! I mean, what kind of man doesn't like a woman in Gauchos?" Akemi sobbed.

"So, how did it go?" Hiashi floated in smiling. He knew for sure that this was going to go down well.

"I'm sorry Hiashi; but that nephew of yours obviously has some attitude problems. As for that business plan we just proposed over a while ago? Well, you can scratch that, Mister!"

"W-what? B-but, I don't understand. What could've gone wrong?" Hiashi's face turned starched white.

"Apperantly your nephew has been a jerk to my little girl. My daughter is a princess; and she deserves a man who will treat her like one! So goodbye!" The Hokagè then turned on his heels and stormed out with Akemi right beside him.

"Well, like father, like daughter." Hiashi rolled his eyes. "Oh, well. I guess I better get Little Neji out of his 'cage' before his Chibi owner gets all worked up again." Hiashi walked onto his office and opened the closet door. However, he found that the cage wasn't hanging on the kunai he had tossed it on. It was badly damaged, and there were several sharp but rusted needles sticking through the bottom of the cage.

What scared him the most wasn't the fact that the cage was in bad shape. It was the fact that there was no Chibi inside. Hiashi then noticed something peciluar about the cage: there was the gap in between two of the rusted bars.

"That little rascal...I'll put that wise guy in his place." Hiashi scowled. "As a matter of fact, I should put him in his place right now. If I find out that he was the one who ruined the Hyuga clan's chances, he'll really get it! That can wait, though." Hiashi smiled rather grimly. "I need to gather evidence first."

{ Little Neji's bedtime}

"Alright, Little Neji. Time for bed." Neji turned off the t.v. and picked his Chibi up.

"Daddy Neji *Yawn!* I don't wanna go to bed!" Little Neji whined.

"Well you need to if you want to have enough energy to play with your freinds at Chibi Camp." Neji placed his Chibi down on his feet. He then took Little Neji's regular shirt off and put on his night one.

"Okay. I'll go to bed-"

"Good."

"-but only if you read me a bedtime story!" Little Neji exclaimed.

Neji smiled at his Chibi's eagerness and excitement. "Okay. One bedtime story, and that's it!"

"Yay! Yay! Yay!" Little Neji cheered. The pale-eyed Chibi ran to his room in pure joy, tinkling laughter sounding a little while later.

"Such a sweet Chibi." Neji chuckled. "He's so cute, it's hard to imagine him being a part of this cruel clan."


	7. Chapter 7

The Key to One's Soul!

By:SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 7: Fun in the Sun!

"Daddy Neji, c'mon! I've been waiting for you for like, forever now!" Little Neji shouted at me from my doorway.

"Just wait Chibi-kun! I'll be out in a minute!" I shuffled under my mattress. Turns out, it's a lot messier than it appears. There's a box of pizza(no doubt from when Rock Lee, Naruto, Kiba, Shino and Shikamaru last spent the night here) some dusty 'Captain Justice shinobis' action figures(no doubtedly Little Neji's) and a molded sock that I thought belonged to Little Neji; but turned out to be that bento box one of those beaux gave to me weeks ago. I didn't want to throw it away in front of her, so I shoved it under the bed. Despite this, I couldn't find what I was looking for.

"Daddy Neji, hurry up! We're going to be late." I could hear Little Neji whining.

"If you don't shut-up, you won't be going at all!" I snapped. Of course I didn't mean it, but I was relieved when he finally shut-up.

That's when I finally remembered where I placed whatever I was looking for. I bumped my head on top of the mattress as I crawled out.

"OW!" I yelped. I rubbed my head, but ignored the pain. I reached for my bedroom drawer, yanked it open, and pulled out the desired object: a small blue-black box.

"Aha!" I exclaimed proudly. Opening it up, I saw the gleam of a kunai pendant and two tiny shurriken to match with it. Before I could admire it in it's entirety, I shoved it in my back pocket. I stood up and walked to my bedroom door.

"Finally!" Little Neji sighed exasperated. "Now can we go, Daddy Neji?"

"Sure." I smiled. "I want to make sure you get to Chibi Camp on time."

{On the way to Chibi Camp}

It was a sunny, beautiful day in Konoha. The Naruto-colored sun was beaming, the sky was a cotton candy blue, and every cloud seemed to have a shining silver lining.

_'It's funny how I never seemed to notice these kind of things. At least not until after the Chunin exams...and Little Neji...and Tenten.' _I sighed.

I looked down at my Chibi who was happily skipping, swinging his lunchbox and singing.

"Hey, look Daddy Neji!" Little Neji pointed ahead.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Saus-ke! Saus-keeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" [Hey Little Neji!]

"Oh no...don't tell me **Uchiha **is here." I rolled my eyes.

"Little Sauske!" My Chibi ran to catch up with the Emo incarnation.

I simply kept silent and walked up silently to the Uchiha.

"Uchiha." I stated.

"Hyuga." He replied.

"Sauske-Sauske!" [Hey Lil' 'Pac! What's up?] Little Sauske smiled.

"Whadda-do, Tiny Talls?" Little Neji grinned.

The two then proceeded to dap hands.

"Lil' 'Pac?" I quirked.

"Tiny Talls?" Uchiha tilted his head in confusion.

"Wait...don't you mean Tupac and Biggie Smalls?" I asked.

"Weren't they like, rivals or something along that sort?" Sauske- I mean, **Uchiha** asked.

"Sauske-Sauske-Sauske!" [Hey, just because the original Tupac and Biggie were enemies doesn't mean that we have to be.]

"Yeah! Besides. I heard that the whole thing was supposed to be a gimmick anyway. At least that's what the music companies did; until they started believing it." My Chibi commented.

"How do you guys know all of this stuff?" Uchiha chuckled.

"We have our sources..." Little Neji smirked.

We then arrived at our destination: the Chibi Camp Daycare. However, I was surprised when I saw a big sign that read:

ATTENTION: TODAY IS "FUN" DAY!

Make sure you behave yourselves today!

"Oh no!" I exclaimed. That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks: I forgot all about "Fun" day!

Fun day is a day that happens for three days once a year. Those three days are like a kind of festival for Chibis and their Chibi owners. Hokagè-sama has been doing it for 2 years now, and it's been a big success so far. The only thing that this has to do with me is the fact that I promised that I would go with Little Neji this year; and I completely forgot. *Sigh!*

"Don't tell me you forgot, Daddy Neji." Little Neji sighed.

"Yeah. Don't tell him you forgot, Hyuga." Uchiha smirked, mocking my Chibi's frown.

I glared at Uchiha, and then turned to face Little Neji. "No Little Neji, I didn't forget." I sighed. "I-It just slipped my mind, that's all."

"You're still going with me this year, right?" He asked me.

"Of course!" I squatted down to his height and hugged him. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"See you around, Hyuga." The Uchiha rubbed Little Sauske's head affectionately. "See ya' Bat-kid."

"Sauske-Sauske?" [You mean you're not staying for Fun day?] Little Sauske asked sadly.

"Sorry Bat-kid. I have stuff to do." Sauske then pulled out some Ryo bills and handed them to his Chibi. "Here's 50 Ryo. Have some fun; and don't be afraid to bring me something back."

"Sauske!" [Okay! Bye!] Little Sauske ran into the Daycare building.

"C'mon Little Neji." I picked him up and walked into the Daycare. I looked ahead and saw the happy looks on so many Chibis and their Chibi owners.

Rock Lee was proclaiming 'The power of Youth' while his Chibi Pebbles was riding on his shoulders; smiling and laughing all the while. Little Sakura punched a small boulder in half, in which Sakura-chan squealed in approval. Chouji and Naruto were signing up for the ramen eating-contest with Little Naruto and Chubby Chouji right behind them. I even got a glimpse of Tenten watching over Teddy-Bear-Tenten drawing a picture she was going to enter in the Konoha Art contest.

_'She looks so cute...like a guardian angel. Not only that, but she looks __**so good**__ doing it, too...' _At these thoughts I started blushing.

_'No Neji! Don't lose your composure!' _My mind screamed. My heart, on the other hand, just didn't feel like cooperating.

"Daddy Neji? Daddy Neji! Da-ddy Ne-jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..." A small voice whined.

"Huh?" I realized it was my Chibi.

"Daddy Neji, pay attention. You're embarrassing me." Little Neji rolled his eyes. "Look! It's Teddy-chan and Tenten-san. can we go talk to them?"

"Sure." I replied. However, before we could take another step, Iruka pulled out his megaphone.

"HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOO, CHIBIS! ARE YOU READY FOR FUN DAY?!"

"YEEEEEEEEEEAAAH!" Eager Chibis' screams filled the air.

"C'MON! I KNOW YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT! CHIBI PARENTS HELP THEM OUT!"

"**YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAHH!**" The amount of noise in the room shook the entire day care. Little Neji toppled over from the noise, but he screamed nonetheless.

"ALRIGHT! FUN DAY WILL TAKE PLACE IN TRAINING GROUNDS #76 & #77! CHIBIS MAKE SURE YOU BEHAVE YOURSELVES, AND PARENTS MAKE SURE YOUR CHIBIS ARE UNDER SUPERVISION!"

After that, Iruka started leading us to the training grounds.

{Training grounds #76 and #77}

After the opening ceremony, Fun Day got started with a big bang. Guy sensei had a fitness booth with a Wii Fit Ô section and a DDRÔ competitionon going on as well. He was even giving out free Taijutsu lessons along with that. Sakura was having a kid-friendly nutrition seminar. She was passing out carrot sticks, apples, celery, and strawberries as she talked.

Kakashi had a kissing booth. This stumped me; considering the fact that he was wearing his mask. Only Kami knows where it's been. *Blech!* Ino had a flower booth selling flowers. Despite that, Chibis got a free flower of their choice. Anko had a fishing booth; but the trick was, you had to catch the fish with a ninja weapon of your choice.

Jiraya the famous toad Sage had a modeling booth. However, when he asked the ladies to take their tops off, he lost both his money and his dignity. I even saw a Chibi foul mouthing him off. Hey: that's what perving gets you.

As for me? Well, i'm happy to say that after playing multiple games and eating great foods with my Chibi; I was 'chillaxing' with my best friend and my girl, Tenten. We were sitting in the tree we used for shade during training. We were far enough not to be spotted; but close enough to keep an eye on our Chibis. We were sitting on a sturdy branch, Tenten sitting in between my legs.

"*Sigh!*" Tenten snuggled into my chest.

I ran my fingers through her hair. It wasn't in buns like she usually wore it, which is the way I liked it. I took a deep whiff of her chocolate colored hair. Her hair smelled sweetly of vanilia, cocoa butter, lavender, and a bit of Hersey's as well.

"Isn't this day perfect? Plenty of sun, plenty of fun-"

"And we get to spend time with each other." I smirked.

"Uh-huh." Tenten smiled.

She leaned in for a kiss, which I happily complied to.

_'Her kisses...they taste so much like heaven...' _I then melted into the warmth of her kisses; making every part of her mouth familiar to mine.

When we finally parted, my love had a glazed, faraway look in her eyes. I knew I had that same dazed look as well.

That's when I remember the blue-black box in my back pocket. I shifted around, reaching for the item.

"What is it, Neji?" Tenten looked up in confusion.

"Well, there's something i've been meaning to give you.." Just as I started to pull out the item, a Chunin ran up to the base of our tree.

"Hyuga-san! Hyuga-san! Tenten-san! Tenten-san!" The Chunin yelled up the tree. When he finally realized how we were sitting, he blushed and grinned sheepishly. "Um, I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"Nope." Tenten and I leapt off the branch we were resting on. "Nothing at all." I sighed sarcastically.

"Oh really? Because I thought I saw-"

"Listen man; don't ask, and don't tell." Tenten scowled. The only flaw in that threat was the tiny blush that lingered on her cheeks.

"You heard her. Now it's either you tell us what you need to, or you leave." "OH!" The Chunin fumbled with something in his back pocket. He then pulled out a scroll. "Since the Hokagè is busy doing something right, now, she asked me to give this scroll to you. She said to read it and find her as soon as possible." He told us.

"Thank you. We'll do this immediately." I told him.

With that, the Chunin poofed away.

"Huh. So much for fun in the sun." Tenten sighed.

I opened and read the parchment out loud.

_"Neji, Tenten: due to certain circumstances I can't meet up with you in person. However,I have a very important mission that only the two of you and the rest of the Genin 12 can do. I'll give you details when you meet up with me. If you want to find me, just look in the sake section of the Ichi-Raku ramen bar. If i'm not there, i'm probably cuddling some adorable Chibi or beating up Jiraya. Reasons unknown for both at this point. _

_-Tsunade." _

_'Wow. I never knew Hokagè-sama liked Chibis like that.' _I thought to myself. At the mention of Chibi, I felt a sharp 'pang' in my heart. Little Neji was going to be so dissapointed.

"Teddy-chan isn't going to be too happy about this." Tenten rubbed her hair, upset.

"I know." I replied. "Little Neji won't be too happy about this, either." I rolled the parchment back up and stuffed it away.

"Then again, we're Shinobi. It's our duty." Tenten looked into my eyes.

"Yeah." I said. "Let's just go."

{Ichi-Raku ramen bar}

"Hokagè-sama, we came as fast as we cou-" Tenten and I paused as soon as we noticed the scene that was in front of me. Tsunade was grinding Jiraya under her foot while she was holding a Chibi who appeared to be Teddy-Bear-Tenten.

"Now stay away from the creepy old man, you hear Teddy-chan?" Tsunade cooed.

"Yes, Hokagè-sama."

"Now go play. Your freinds are waiting for you." Tsunade put Teddy-chan down. She ran off, giggling like the 5-year old she was.

"Tenten-chan, you're a very lucky woman to have a Chibi like her." Tsunade smiled sadly.

I saw the light that flickered across her eyes. You don't get praise from your idol every day.

"Thank you, Hokagè-sama. Thanks for also handling whatever was going on. I had a feeling it wasn't good." Tenten chuckled.

"Oh yes!" The Hokagè's light bulb went off. "About your mission. It's a A-B-S-X-Double X-B-C-D-A-XX-S-Super Important mission!" Tsunade stated.

"Um, Tsunade, you just made that up, didn't you?" I asked, glancing at the sake that she was suspiciously hiding behind her back.

"The ranking: yes, but this mission is 250% real." Tsunade leaned in really slowly. "The United Nations has finally decided to send in three represenitives to represent the country of Konoha!"

"That's great!" Tenten squealed.

"Yeah. That is fantastic news." I agreed. One of my eyes slipped back to where the sake bottle was; but it was gone. Where did it go?

"I've decided to send the following three people to represent Konoha: Uzamaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Hyuga Neji. Tenten and Sauske will be going to serve as bodyguards." Tsunade gave us a serious look. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, Hokagè-sama!" We both said.

I looked out of the corner of my eye, only to see that the sake bottle had grown legs and was walking out of the ramen bar.

"Well good." She said. "In that case, you may return to your festivities."

"Hai!" We replied, and ran out of the bar.

"*Heh! Heh! Heh!* Who says that drunk people are foolish?" The Hokagè turned around to reach for her bottle of sake.

"Huh? W-where's my *hic!* Sake?"

{In front of Ino's flower booth}

"Okay! I got the bottle of sake!" That was the first thing I heard when I walked up to my Chibi. "Now it's my turn to dare you, Uchiha!"

_'Huh...so that was how that bottle of sake grew legs.'_ I thought to myself.

"Hey, Little Neji!" I squatted down to his height. "Guess what?"

"You got me a surprise!" He beamed.

"Um...no. Actually, I have another mission." I told him.

His smile faltered. "Oh," Then his face lightened up again. "But we can still have fun, right?"

I smiled. "Sure we can, Chibi. Just no more sake double dares, okay?"

"Okay!"


	8. Chapter 8

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 8:My Mama's going to America!

"Mama Tenten, are you sure you have to go?" I asked.

It's been a few days since my Mama Tenten told me she was going to America. It was for a mission(of course) and I didn't know the details, but she was going to the good ol' U.S.A. That didn't mean that I was thrilled. My mama would be gone for a long time; and in that time she could get hurt.

{Earlier this morning...}

"But baby, aren't you happy? I'm going to America! _America!_" Mama Tenten said to me this morning.

"Yeah, i'm happy."

"But what?"

"But, I don't want you getting hurt."

My mama Tenten sighed and picked me up. "Now Teddy-chan, what did I promise you?"

"T-that you would always come back to me."

"Exactly. Now have I ever scared you wrong?"

"No."

"And I'll always come back to you. I promise."

I smiled. Mama Tenten always keeps her promises.

{Chibi Camp Daycare}

I guess either everyone else caught wind of the news, or big-mouthed Little Naruto told everybody; because everyone was asking him, Little Neji, Little Sakura, Little Sauske, and me all sorts of questions. They were also telling us all sorts of things as well.

"Hey! I heard of this place called New York! You guys should check that place out." Little Kiba smiled.

"You mean...you've actually **been** to the States?" Little Neji asked.

"Oui, Chibi-no-gaki!" The dog-loving Chibi scoffed. "And you thought that America never even existed!"

"Well, hey! How was I supposed to know that you were actually telling the truth? I never even knew the place was even real until a couple of days ago!" Little Neji exclaimed.

I just laughed at the two guys argument. My friends could be so funny sometimes.

"Did you know that some people in America are 'Black'?" Sandy Pants(Little Garra) stated.

"Really? They look kind of Chocolate-colored to me." Little Naruto wagged his fox-like tail in contemplation.

"Some of them look like 'sand'." Chubby Chouji added as he munched on msg free pretzels.

"The United States of America has a Black president!" Little Hinata exclaimed.

"Who?!" We all asked.

"Well, it's so obvious! It's the one...the only...THE YOUTHFUL JAY-Z!" Pebbles(Little Lee) pulled out a poster advertising Jay-Z's most recent 'The Blueprint 3' tour.

"NO, silly!" I exclaimed.

"You wish." Little Naruto chuckled.

"His name is Barack Obama, and he's the country's 43rd president." Lil' Shika spoke up lazily.

"Only you would know something like that." Little Kiba rolled his eyes.

"No, that's not true. My Big-Chibi-sama has been doing a lot of research on America. He's been finding out a lot of interesting things. Like the fact that the U.S.A has fifty states." Little Sauske said.

"Cool." Shino-the-Bug boy responded.

"The coolest part about it," Little Sauske beckoned for us to lean in. "is the fact that every state is different!"

A wave of 'oohs' and 'aahs' overflowed the room.

"Awesome!" I replied. "I'm so happy that my Mama Tenten gets to go."

From that moment on, I was proud that my Mama Tenten was going on this mission.

{Later that day}

"Okay, Teddy-chan." My Mama Tenten put me down and handed me my bag of stuff. "Now be good for Hinata-chan, okay?"

"Okay, Mama. I will."

My Mama Tenten knocked on the door. A second later, Hinata-san opened the door.

"Oh, hi Tenten-san!" Hinata looked down at me. "Hello, Teddy-chan."

"Hi, Hinata-san!" I smiled.

"Hinata!" [Hi, Teddy-Bear-Tenten!] Little Hinata peeped out from behind her mama's legs.

"Hey, Little Hinata! Is Little Neji here?"

"Hinata-nata-nata." [Yeah. He's watching 'Captain Justice shinobis' on t.v.]

"Cool! I love that show!" I jumped for joy.

"Give Mama Tenten a hug and a kiss baby." My Mama Tenten picked me up and placed a ton of kisses on me.

"*Ha! Ha! Ha! Mama!" I laughed.

"Alright, baby. Have fun!"

"Okay!" I ran into the room. Inside, I saw Little Neji sitting still, his eyes glued to the television.

"Hey, Little Neji!" I called out to him.

He turned around and jumped up when he saw me. "Hi, Teddy-chan!"

"Hey, Little Neji!" I said. "You watching Captain Justice shinobis?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

We all sat down and watch Captain Justice and his fellow Shinobi friends fight evil, demons, and manipulative organizations. My favorite character, however, was Mistress Kioyku. She knew how to hold everyone down in the Justice Shinobi group. She also knew how to hang with everyone, but keep them in check at the same time. She was kind and sweet, and knows how to kick butt. In a lot of ways, she reminds me of my Mama Tenten.

"Hey, Neji...have you ever thought that anyone in this show reminds you of someone in real life?"

"All the time. Captain Justice reminds me of my Daddy Neji." Little Neji replied.

"Mistress Kioyku reminds me of my Mama Tenten."

"Cool...but doesn't she have a crush on Captain Justice?"

I blushed. "Yeah...I think so."

"Are you trying to say that your mama likes my daddy?"

"WHAT?! No!" I shouted. "Of course not."

"Yeah, that's for sure. After all, it could never happen." Little Neji said.

I don't know what happened next, but something inside of me snapped. One minute I was fine, and the next minute I was pissed off.

"What did you say?" I growled.

"I said: it could never happen." Little Neji sounded bored when he said it.

"Why? Do you think my Mama's out of Neji-san's league?"

"What?"

"Do you think that she's a nobody just because she doesn't belong to a clan?"

"What? No!"

"Or maybe it's because she doesn't have a kenkkai genkkai of her own,"

"Uh-uh."

"Or do you think that she's not just pretty enough?"

"Hell, I don't know! I don't think about those kinds of things! **I'm freaking** _**5**_!"

"Well, I don't care what you think, because my Mama is good enough for anyone! And she's good enough for one, then she's too good for all! When I say all, I mean you and your Daddy Neji."

"Woah! Now back up, Teddy-chan! I never said any of those things about about your mama, nor do I think them. I know for sho' my Daddy Neji doesn't think all of those things about Tenten-san. However, the Hyuga Elders and the Head might differ." Little Neji sighed.

Then I remembered the last time I came to the Hyuga Compound. Date crashing is fun; but it's not something I want a future career in.

"Anyway, now that we're on the subject of my Chibi owner, I need to ask you something."

"Anything, Little Neji."

"Theoretically speaking, let's just say that my Daddy Neji was in a cage, and-"

"Are you talking about the Caged Bird seal?"

"Wait? How do you know about the Caged Bird seal?"

"My Mama Tenten told me to ask you about it when I asked it. Other than that, I don't know squat."

"Well, my Daddy Neji said that he's like a bird in a cage. I want to free him from that cage; but you can't set him free with a key. Not with a real key, anyway. Then, I met a magical Sanin Genie that said: there's always more to what you see than what you see, and that there's always something more to words than the basic interpretation."

"Wait. Did you say: a magical Sanin genie?"

"Yeah! Did you see him."

"I think I did...he was asking me to model in a bathing suit for him when Tsunade-baa-chan kicked him in the gut and took me away from him. She called him Jiraya, I think."

"Jiraya. Okay. Anyway, that's when I figured out that he's in a cage emotionally."

"Wow...that's something." I breathed. "The way he carries himself, you'd think that it didn't bother him."

"Yeah. But I know better now. That mark that's keeping him caged means something, and it's not good." He said.

"Well, I'll help you figure it out. I promise."

"You will?" His eyes lit up.

"Sure!"

"Wow!" Little Neji grinned. "Thanks, Teddy-chan."

* )*

U

The Author's block!

Hello, fellow folks! It's me, Yoshi-chan! I decided that I should start taking my time to communicate with my fans 'mono et mono'. Also, it's help to improve(or build) my social life, since by everyone else's standards I don't have one.

Anyway, I decided that we needed a female's point of view in this story. I'm not saying that Little Neji isn't cute; but Teddy-Bear-Tenten needs her screen time, too! After all, who can possibly resist those adorable teddy-bear ears!

-'Till next time though,

imma stay posted!

Yoshi.C!


	9. Chapter 9

The Key to One's Soul

By:SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 9: And...takeoff!

"Wow...I never thought they'd be _so_ big!" I breathed.

"Yeah. I've only seen them on t.v., and that was in an anime show!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Are you excited, Tenten?" Sakura asked me.

Everyone was excited. I saw all sorts of people from many hidden villages, including Suna, the village hidden in the Sand, the Hidden village in the rain, and the village hidden in Tea. Life and sparkles were in everyone's eyes. I even saw a golden flicker or two in Neji's lavender-silver eyes. They looked so warm when he was happy. That always kept a smile on my face.

"Are you excited, Neji?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Oh," Neji pulled out a camera and snapped a picture of the marvel we were all gaping at: an airplane. "Little Neji asked me to take pictures."

"Aw, man! I never thought about taking pictures!" I mentally slapped myself.

_'Bringing a camera never crossed my mind! Poor Teddy-chan. I'm going on a trip that millions of Chibis could only hope for, and I didn't even think about capturing the sights once. *Sigh!*...'_

"Don't worry, Tenten. I'll take more than enough pictures for the both of us." Neji smiled at me. "You just take care of the souvenirs."

"No fair! You always make me buy the souvenirs!"

"Yeah, but if **I **bought the souvenirs, then I would have any money to take you out to _any_ nice places."

"...Touchè."

"Alright, everybody!" Tsunade-sama called out to all of the hidden villages. "This big, stick/bird/metal looking thing is called an _airplane_!"

"We know that! We're not retarded!" A person from the Sound village called.

"Well, some people didn't know that! Like me!" The Hokagè snapped back. "Anyway,**as I was saying**," This airplane will carry us to our destination by air in a few hours. I heard that it's a bit uneasy at takeoff, but you'll get used to it in a couple of minutes. As for now, though," The Hokagè walked up th stairs. "Let's board and takeoff!"

"ALRIGHT!" Naruto shouted! "EXCUSE ME, PARDON ME!" Naruto pushed past people rather rudely. "FUTURE HAOKGÈ COMMING THROUGH! I CALL DIBS ON THE FIRST-CLASS SEATS!"

"NARUTO, YOU BETTER COME BACK HERE! " Tsunade-sama yelled.

"WHAT?!"

"YOU'RE BEING RUDE TO OUR FELLOW COMPANIONS HERE!"

"BUT I'M FUTURE HOKAGÈ!"

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER! AND FOR CUTTING EVERYONE ELSE, YOU'RE GETTING ON LAST _**AND**_ GETTING ECONOMY-CLASS SEATS!"

"B-but Baa-chan..."

"No if's, ands, or buts about it. Now if you all will kindly follow me. we will board the plane for takeoff."

I giggled at the scene while Neji just grunted. I could tell that this was going to be a fun ride.

{Back at the Hyuga Compound}

"Alright, Little Neji. I know you want to mentally free your Daddy Neji, but I still can't understand why we have to try and sneak into Hiashi's study." I asked Little Neji.

"Well, Hiashi's the clan head, and he gets to know a whole bunch about the history of the Hyuga Clan. Maybe we can find out something in there." He said.

"I don't know...it does seem risky. And it feels wrong. I mean, what if we get caught?" I asked.

Little Neji sighed and looked me in the eyes. "Listen, Teddy-chan. If you don't feel right doing this, I can do it by myself."

"No! I mean, it doesn't feel right, but I want to help you, no matter the cost. We're best friends." I said.

"Great!" Little Neji smiled. However, his face turned gloomy again.

"What's wrong, Little Neji?"

"You know," Little Neji's eyes rolled to the top of the ceiling. "I just noticed something."

"What?"

"Have you noticed most of the Hyugas wear these white bands over their foreheads?"

"Yeah." I shrugged my shoulders. "I always thought it was normal."

"Well, there's always been a Main House and a Branch Family, right?"

"How should I know? You're the Hyuga!"

"Focus! Anyway," Little Neji replied. "There's always been a Main House and a Branch Family."

"Your point?"

"My point is, the Main House members don't wear that white band, nor do they contain the seal."

"So..." This was getting interesting.

"So if Daddy Neji has the Caged Bird seal, wears that same white band, _and_ is a branch member-"

"-then every other Branch member must have a seal!" I finished for him.

"That's right." Little Neji looked at me.

I gulped. I could either figure this problem out and free Neji-san, or I could sit here waiting for the answers to come.

"Little Neji,we're going to sneak into Hiashi's study. We have to, or else we won't be able to free your Daddy Neji."

Little Neji grinned. "Thanks, Teddy-chan! I knew you would say yes."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yep. Which means we're gonna need to call in help." Little Neji pulled out his Samsung flip phone and pressed a number. It quickly speed dialed, and someone answered.

"Moshi moshi? Yeah, it's me, Little Neji. Yeah, she agreed to go through with the plan. I think it's clear to come out now. Uh-huh, the guards are on break. Let Little Hinata nii-sama guide you. Arigatou. Sayonara." Little Neji hung up his phone.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"You'll see." He smirked.

I just sighed, exasperated. "So, how are you planing to get into Hiashi-san's study?"

"Just wait 'till our help comes, Teddy-chan."

_'Help? What help?' _I thought.

However, before I could ask Little Neji out loud, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Little Neji shouted.

Neji's door was opened and in came Little Hinata, Little Naruto, Little Sauske, Little Sakura, and Pebbles.

"Wow. The Team Kakashi and Team Gai Chibis, plus one Team Kurenai Chibi? All here under a highly respected Clan's roof? Seems like a full house to me." I turned to face Little Neji. "Are you sure we need all of these guys for backup? By the way, how did you manage to round up so many people?"

"We're here to play! Well, at lest that's what we told our Chibi owners." Little Naruto said.

"YOSH! We wouldn't want to miss out helping our youthful freinds for the world!" Pebbles shouted for joy.

"Besides, we're here to be decoys and distractions for you guys." Little Sauske replied.

"Alright, everyone! Let's simmer down and go over the plan." Little Neji leaned in and whispered us the plan.

I was starting to feel very confident in this plan.

{Somewhere in the Hyuga Compound}

As the Hyuga family went about their daily business, 6 + 1 Chibis snuck through the halls of the mansion, trying their best not to attract attention. They didn't have to try so hard since most Hyugas didn't like Chibis; but they wanted to be extra sure they wouldn't draw any attention to themselves. They slyly slid through tight spots and stuffy places, and even managed to sneak a basket of special-ordered dumplings for a quick lunch.

Finally, the Chibis arrived at their destination. Around the corner was Hiashi's office, and in there was his study.

"Alright, guys. You know the plan. Now stick to it." Little Neji said.

"Hai!" The Chibis responded.

Slowly and surely, Little Sakura, Little Sauske and Pebbles snuck out quietly from behind the corner.

_'Operation: 'Persuade and Invade' commences now!'_ Little Neji thought to himself.

"Sauske, Sauske." [Good afternoon, Hiashi-san.] Little Sauske bowed.

Hiashi looked up, only to see three beaming Chibis with their fingers crossed in their pockets.

"Why, hello there, Chibis. What do you need?" He smiled a soft smile.

"Um, we just want to know what it's like to be a **youthful** Clan leader!" Pebbles appeared to be exuberant.

"Saku-Saku-Sakura!" [After all, I plan to be in charge of a hospital someday!] Little Sakura also managed to feign innocence and interest.

"Well, sure!" Hiashi stood up. "Not only will I tell you what it's like to be Clan leader, but I'll throw in a free tour as well!"

"Sauske!" [Alright!]

"Let's start at the grand entrance, shall we?" Hiashi, glad that he was finally able to gloat about his so-called supreme power, led the three Chibis towards the entrance of the Hyuga Compound.

_'Wow...they've managed to buy us more time than we even hoped for! If he really plans to show them the whole mansion, then that'll take him a good hour or so.' _Little Neji thought.

As soon as the small group was a safe distance from the rest of the group; the other 4 Chibis slid out of the corner.

"Alright, Little Hinata. You be lookout." Little Neji handed her a Game Boy Color. "Try not to look suspicious."

"A Game Boy Color? Seriously? You better have Mortal Combat with you." Little Hinata sulked.

"Listen. Your job is to be the lookout, not to be distracted. Here's Kirby's Dreamland. It's either that, or Mario Golf."

Little Hinata thought for a second. Then she swiped both games.

"Fine." She said. "Do your best, guys."

"Okay." The three Chibis walked into the Hyuga Head's office as quietly as they could.

{Up in the Airplane: Tenten's point of view}

"Neji, are you okay? You've been in there for 30 minutes now." I spoke through the bathroom door of the plane.

"Y-yeah, I'm...I'm...I'm fin-*BLECH!*" I could hear sounds of regurgitation and gagging.

"Do you want me to ask for some aspirin?" I asked him.

"Yeah...that's be good."

"Okay."

"Oh...*Burb!* Tenten?"

"Huh? Is there something else you want me to get?"

"No. Just ask the Hokagè something."

"What?"

"Can we just take a cruise ship next time? Air travel isn't exactly my thing anymore."

I laughed. "Sure, Neji. I'll make sure she gets that message A.S.A.P."

*)*

U

The Author's block!

Hey there, fellow folks! It's me again! Wow! It's hard to believe that the 10th chapter is right after this one! I can't wait to update. I'm running a bit slow on 'The Prime Life and High times of Little Sauske. Poor Little Sauske...so lonely...

Little Sauske: You do know that you kinda left a cliffhanger on that!

Yoshi-chan: Man, who asked you?!

Other than that, you know how it is. ;)

'Till next time though,

imma stay posted!

-Yoshi-chan!


	10. Chapter 10

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 10: One tiara closer to knowing the truth!

"Hey guys...I think I found what we were looking for!" I pulled out two scrolls. "This might be the Intel we need in order to figure out this Caged Bird Seal."

Thanks to Pebbles, Little Sakura, and Little Sauske being able to distract Hiashi; we were able to sneak into his library in order to find info on the Cadged Bird Seal. I don't exactly know how long we've been here, but we've found out a lot of things since then.

"Great job, Little Neji!" Teddy-chan smiled. "Now all we have to do is get out of here-and,"

"Code: DDD! Code: DDD!" I heard Little Hinata calling.

"Oh-no!" I cried.

King DDD was the villain from the game 'Kirby's Dreamland'. However, 'Code DDD' meant that Hiashi was coming back!

"Hide in here, guys!" Little Naruto had found a chest filled with silks and treasures of sorts.

We all hopped in eagerly and shut the chest behind us.

"What do we do now?" Teddy-chan asked.

"Shh! We wait." I whispered.

And so we waited...

It had been several minutes since we've been in this chest. If I had to guess, i'd say about 30; but i'd hate to imagine that.

"You know, maybe it's safe to come-" Little Naruto was about to finish whispering that statement, but then we heard the sound of a door opening.

"Now, i'd like to show you kids something." I could hear Hiashi walking towards the chest we were occupying.

My body trembled with fear and anticipation. We came all this way in order to free my Daddy Neji; and we were about to be found out. Now all our efforts would be in vain, and-

I felt something grasp my left hand, and looked up only to see Teddy-chan holding it. She gave me a small smile and a nod. Little Naruto tucked the two scrolls into his jacket pockets and grabbed my right hand. He mouthed the words: Hold on.

I smiled. I could fail from time to time again, but I would always have my freinds, no matter what.

"Now, this was a gift that I got from the land of Mist a couple of years ago. I treasure this very much, so I want you to be careful with it."

"Wow! It's looks like one of those treasure chests you see pirates on t.v. bury. Without all the sand, of course." I heard Little Sakura's voice. She was still speaking in Chibi, but I didn't need her eye contact in order to understand what she was saying.

"I present to you..." Hiashi thrust opened the chest. "Silks and gold from the Village Hidden in the Mist!"

As soon as he said that, Little Naruto peeped out of the chest. "Narutoooooooooooooooooooooo!"

"Wow, sir! I never knew that you collected Narutos(1.) too." Pebbles snickered.

"W-what?" Hiashi's eyes popped out of his sockets. "I-i don't collect Narutos, or any Chibis for that fact."

"Naru-to-to!" [See yah!] Little Naruto stood on the edge, grew three more tails, and jumped off, pulling me and Teddy-chan with him. Then, his tails started to twist like propellers, and lifted us into the sky.

"C'mon, you guys! Follow us!" Teddy-chan called down to the others on the ground. She had a small, tiny, Chibi sized tiara.

"HEY! Come back here, you little rapscallions! That's my treasure you've got in your hands!" Hiashi dived for Teddy-chan, but missed and hit the edge of his desk. "OUCH!"

"Hee! Hee! Hee! You'll never catch us, you unyothful old man!" Pebbles squealed.

"I AM 46, DAMMIT! LEMMIE SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU: F-O-R-T-Y S-I-X! I HAVE UNTIL 55!" He yelled.

Little Hinata had the Game Boy Color turned off and started running as soon as she saw us running.

"YOU WON'T BE HEARING THE LAST OF THIS! I'M TELLING THIS TO YOUR CHIBI OWNERS, YOU-"

I'm pretty sure Hiashi-oba-chan had swore some bad words back there, but I didn't care. We had accomplished our mission, and that's all that mattered.

{Some secret cave on the skirts of the Hyuga garden}

"Alright. I think we're safe here." I sighed. "Little Naruto, the scrolls."

"Here you go!" Little Naruto handed me the scrolls.

"Hey, Little Neji, how did you manage to find such a secret place? I mean with the Hyuga having the Byakugan and all, don't you think they'd be able to find it in a snap?" Little Sauske asked.

"Don't worry, Tiny Talls. The chances of that are zero to none, if not negative 1" I joked.

I then proceeded to open the first scroll. The paper was old, and yellowed with age.

"The Caged Bird Seal..." I began.

_"The Caged Bird Seal is a form of protection from outside forces to preserve the Byakugan and all of it's secrets. It is also created for the protection of the Main Family and the Clan Heads." _

"I knew this had something to do with the two families!" I shouted.

"I don't get it. What makes a branch member a branch member, and a Main member a main member? I mean, aren't you all Hyuga?" Little Naruto asked.

"I don't know, but maybe we'll find out." I said.

_"The Seal is a way to make sure that no one gets the secret of the Byakugan. When one with the Seal dies, the seal destroys the eyes and any traces of the Byakugan. However, if a Branch member is to defy a Main House member, then the seal may be used to $#*)( {+_~~`,(*&. _

"What the heck? What's this? I can't read a smidgen of it!" I exclaimed.

"It looks like its' been rewritten in some fancy, jacked-up code." Little Sakura stated.

"Yosh! Maybe there are some secret decoding glasses around here!" Pebbles exclaimed.

"Nah, I doubt it." Little Naruto said. "But what I don't get is why it's not normal like everything else. You'd think that they could **at least** trust **themselves**."

"When it comes to the Hyuga Clan, they will go to any length to defend their secrets, their pride, and their honor. Whatever any of those may be." Little Hinata spoke up.

"Alright. Let's check out the second scroll." I opened it.

"Huh...this is interesting. They look like directions." Little Hinata cocked her head to the side.

"Not just any directions...Directions in order to create the Cadged Bird Seal!" I exclaimed.

Everyone in the room gasped.

"It's a good thing we took this." Teddy-chan sighed.

"Why?" I asked. "We're not going to use it."

"Yea, but if Hiashi-san doesn't have the directions, then he can't seal anyone. And if i'm correct, the Hyuga Heads must be doing most of the sealing as well." Teddy-chan replied.

"Great thinking, Teddy-chan! Now we just have to find out how to reverse it."I scanned the directions.

Unfortanetly, there was no part in the directions that said how to reverse the curse mark.

"W-what?! What do you mean: 'there's no way to reverse it?' " I wailed. "How am I supposed to free my Daddy Neji now?"

Tears were about to jump into my eyes when everyone group hugged me.

"Don't worry Little Neji." Little Hinata said.

"Yeah, you did your best." Little Sakura added.

"Just because you haven't found what you're looking for doesn't mean that you've hit a dead end. Just keep on going." Pebbles rubbed my back.

"Besides, we could always try to create a seal that will remove the Caged Bird seal." Teddy-chan replied.

"B-but how?" I stuttered. Everything seemed impossible now.

"You know that Magical Sanin Genie that you were telling me about? Well, it turns out I _do_ know the person. His name is Jiraya, the toad Sage. He knows a lot about seals. Maybe **he** can help us." Little Naruto suggested.

"You really think so?" I sniffled.

"I know so, or my name isn't," Little Naruto puffed up his chest and bellowed in his deepest voice. "**RAMEN UZAMAKI!**"

Now that got everyone laughing.

"C'mon, guys. Let's get going before my mommy comes after us." Little Hinata stood up and pulled out my Game Boy Color.

"Alright." I looked at Teddy-chan, who was holding tightly to the tiara she had snatched from Hiashi-oba-chan.

"Hey Teddy-chan," I quirked. "Why did you take that tiara from Hiashi-oba-chan?"

"I took it because... something just compelled me to do it. It's really pretty, though, and look!" She placed it in her hair. "It's even a perfect fit!"

I agreed. She looked beautiful with that tiara on.

"Besides, he doesn't deserve it, nor does he need it. I mean, what kind of grown man wears a Chibi sized tiara?" She chuckled.

Everyone laughed at that joke. After that, I felt a lot better the rest of the day.

{In the United States of America-New York, New York}

"It's beautiful, Neji." Tenten sighed. She snuggled into my chest and squeezed me tight.

"I know." I laid a kiss on her forehead and rocked her slowly.

The New York air brushed our skin softly as we sat on top of Lady Liberty's torch. Of course, people were shocked to see ninja in the 21st century sitting on top of the statue of liberty, but we didn't care.

"Neji, look." Tenten leaned over to wave the citizens of America. They cheered back.

"They love us." She smiled.

I pulled her back to me gently. "But not as much as I love you." I then kissed her soft lips, sending shivers down my spine. They tasted like rapsberries and chocolate, her lips.

"Neji-kun..." Tenten moaned softly.

After that, something inside of me awakened. I pulled her closer to me, wanting to feed our passion. I picked her up and jumped off of the warm light of Lady Liberty.

"Neji...were are we going?" She asked me, fisting my kimono.

"Somewhere special, Tenten-chan." I whispered in her ear.

I sped throughout the towns and blocks of the concrete jungle. I leapt on the giant rocks of metal with rubber spheres called wheels. I leapt up into the sky again, jumping from building to building. Tenten wrapped her arms around my neck, smiling warmly.

We arrived shortly at the hotel we were staying and walked in. I pulled out my room keys and unlocked the door. We stumbled onto the warm hotel bed, which was laced warmth, satin, and passion.

That was the best night of life.

*)*

U

The Aurthor's block!

Hi there, guys! *Tee! Hee!* Sorry, but I couldn't resist this little ending. I think it was either all that Trey Songz or the movie I was watching while typing it. :")P Ah, well. There are more surprises to come as well.

Oh, and don't forget to check out my other stories. Your reviews make my day, faithful readers!

'Till next time though,

imma stay posted!

-Yoshi.C!


	11. Chapter 11

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 11: Living Nightmares walk among us...

After every single Chibi that was staying at the Hyuga Compound was fed, bathed, and taken care of as far as hair was concerned, they all settled down for bed. Hinata had taken the time to borrow a spare mattress from an empty bedroom in the Hyuga Compound. She was also able to get some silk blankets and pillows as well. So after a long day of exploring, running, planning, and fun, the Chibis were all ready to go to sleep.

"Okay, everybody! Time to rest those sleepy little eyes of yours." Hinata smiled.

"*Yawn!* Okay, Hinata-san." Pebbles rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"Hinata-nata-nata?" [Mama, are you gonna read us a story?] Little Hinata asked.

"Not tonight, baby. Maybe tomorrow night." Hinata squatted to her Chibi's height and rubbed her hair.

Hinata then took care to tuck in and kiss goodnight each and every Chibi.

"Goodnight, little Chibis." Hinata cooed.

"Goodnight, Hinata-san." Most of the Chibis said.

As soon as they couldn't hear Hinata's footsteps anymore, they sat up in their spots. Little Neji, Teddy-Bear Tenten, Little Hinata, and Pebbles were on one side, while Little Naruto, Little Sauske, and Little Sakura on the other end.

"Little Neji, go grab the scrolls." Little Naruto said.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Little Neji pulled out the scrolls. "Pebbles, you have the 3-D glasses, right?"

"Right!" Pebbles pulled out all of his funky glasses.

For the next 5 minutes, Little Neji spent his time trying on all of Pebble's funky 3-D glasses. However, he had no luck at all. As a matter of fact, he even tried twice just to make sure.

"Man, this is hopeless!" Little Neji sighed in frustration. "We'll never figure out what this stupid seal does at this rate."

"Don't worry, Little Neji. We'll try something else tomorrow." Teddy-Bear-Tenten rubbed his back reassuringly.

"Alright." The pearl-eyed Chibi sighed. "Let's just get some sleep for now." "Now you're talking!" Little Naruto yawned. "Goodnight, you guys."

"Goodnight to all!" We all said in unison.

Little Neji went to sleep, but with an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach.

{Little Neji's Dreamland}

Little Neji was sitting in the Hyuga clan's nursery, playing with his stuffed bunny. It wasn't often that his dreams took place here.

_'Huh. I wonder what i'm doing here.'_ He thought.

"Usually, most of my dreams take place at Chibi Camp." He shrugged his shoulders. "Ah, well. Things have to change sometimes."

Suddenly, Neji walked into the room with a big smile on his face.

"Daddy Neji!'' Little Neji squealed as soon as he saw him.

"Hey Chibi dove! How are you?" Neji squatted to his Chibi's height.

"Oh daddy, daddy, daddy! I MISSED YOU!" Little Neji yelled.

"Me too, Chibi dove." Neji picked up Little Neji and kissed his hair.

"Daddy...why are you back so soon?" Little Neji asked.

"Why? Did you want me to stay in America **forever**?" Neji tickled him.

"No! No, I didn't want you to stay in America forever!" Little Neji laughed.

"Of course not." Neji held him closer.

That's when Little Neji got that same unsettled feeling in his stomach before he fell asleep. At first, it started out small, but then it grew bigger.

"Daddy..." Little Neji whined.

"Ssssshh...it's okay, Little Neji. I'm here now." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you."

"But i'm not worried about anyone hurting me. I'm worried about someone hurting you."

"Nonsense, Chibi dove. No one here is going to hurt either of us." Neji cooed.

Unfortunatly, Neji was so wrapped up in cuddling his Chibi that he failed to realize that one of the Hyuga Heads walked into the room. So he didn't notice when he made a few hand signs in order to activate something.

"AUGH!" Neji yelled. "Ow! That...it hurts!"

The Hyuga prodigy dropped his Chibi and collapsed to the ground; writhing in pain as he did so.

"DADDY NEJI!" Little Neji ran up to his Chibi owner. "Daddy, what's wrong?"

The only thing Neji could do was scream and howl in pain. That's when Little Neji noticed him scratching at his headband.

_'Whatever under his headband must be bothering him!'_ The terrified Chibi thought hurriedly.

He yanked it off his forehead, only to see his dad's seal there. But it was what the seal was doing that shocked him.

"It's...it's glowing!" He exclaimed.

Then a sick realization had hit the poor Chibi. The Caged Bird Seal was hurting his dad.

"So...this is it's purpose? This is what the seal was created for?" Little Neji turned to the Hyuga Head. "This is what you've been turning them into?!"

By now, his Byakugan was activated.

"*Hee-hee-hee!* Foolish little Chibi. You know absolutely nothing about the Hyuga Clan or it's history." He chuckled.

"I don't care about this sick clan or it's history! I just want you to leave my Daddy Neji alone!" He charged towards him with a Juyyken in his hand.

Before he could land a hit on him however, the Hyuga Head vanished into thin air; thus leaving Little Neji to fall forward.

"*Ouch!* Damn...I missed." The Chibi then remembered his Chibi owner who was fighting his demon of a curse mark on the floor.

"Chibi dove-*Augh!* save yourself before-*Nngh!* b-before it's too late." Neji was heavily cringing in pain.

"NO!" Little Neji ran to his Chibi owner, the person he considered his father. "NO! NO! NO! NO! **NO!** I'm not leaving you, Daddy Neji! NO!"

Little Neji wrapped his arms around his Chibi owner's body as tightly as he could. The poor Chibi was unnerved at how cold to the touch his skin was. To be honest, he didn't even know if he was breathing or not. One by one, the Hyuga Heads started popping up, surrounding the two and crowding them quickly.

"Daddy, don't go. Wake up Daddy Neji, wake up. Wake up!" Little Neji screamed, his eyes full of tears. "Dammit Daddy, WAKE UP!"

"Little Neji..." Neji stroked his Chibi's cheek for what Little Neji was sure would be his last time.

Then he heard a more worried, concerned voice coming from an unknown place. However, it wasn't coming from his Chibi daddy. And for some reason, everything was feeling wet and looking swimmy.

_'Little Neji...Little Neji...**Little Neji...LITTLE NEJI!' **_

{11:45 p.m. at the Hyuga Mansion-Little Neji's point-of-view}

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" I screamed. "DADDY NEJI!"

"Little Neji, calm down! It's just us! Don't worry." I head a soft, warm voice.

"Little Hinata-nii-chan?" I looked up at her.

"Yeah, it's me. Don't worry, it's just us."

"*Phew!*" I sighed. Then, I looked at my side of the bed. "Um, guys? Why am I-"

"Wet? Well," Little Naruto sighed. "Shaking you wasn't working, so we had to use liquid."

"Liquid?" I asked.

"Um, unfortunately, the Hyuga guards only gave us Bacardi." Teddy-chan rubbed her ears sheepishly.

"I should've known." I sighed.

"So Little Neji, are you going to deactivate your Byakugan?" Little Naruto asked me.

"Deactivate my Byakugan?" I asked.

I scanned around the room only to notice that my Byakugan was in fact activated. That's when my eyes landed on the scroll with the code I couldn't comprehend. For some reason, something about that scroll was pulling me towards it. I stood up and walked over to pick it up.

"Little Neji, what are you doing?" Teddy-chan asked me. "We said that we would try again tomorrow."

"No." I picked it up and opened it. "Tommorow will be too late. I have to do this _now._"

I started reading it again...

_"The Caged Bird Seal is a form of protection from outside forces to preserve the Byakugan and all of it's secrets. It is also created for the protection of the Main Family and the Clan Heads." _

_"The Seal is a way to make sure that no one gets the secret of the Byakugan. When one with the Seal dies, the seal destroys the eyes and any traces of the Byakugan. However, if a Branch member is to defy a Main House member, then the seal may be used to..." _

I gulped as I read the next section.

"..._the seal may be used to __**destroy the person that has defied them**__."_

"This...this seal..." I began. My mind burst into overdrive as my nightmares started to become true.

"What? What about the seal, Little Neji?" All of my friends asked.

"This seal is used to destroy people." I whispered.

"WHAT?!" They all screamed, shocked.

"T-that...that can't be true!" Little Hinata exclaimed.

"But why destroy them? I mean, that can't be right. There's got to be something more to this." Little Sakura took the scroll. "It's so..."

"...Wrong." Little Naruto finished for her. "It's like enslaving your own family."

"Well, we didn't exactly finish reading the whole thing." I beckoned them to come to the moonlight streaming in through the window. "There has to be more to this."

_"When necessary, a Branch member can be sacrificed in order to protect the Main Family." _

"I knew it!" I almost shouted. "I knew there had to be more to this."

"Huh? *Yawn!* What's going on?" Pebbles woke up at that moment.

"Little Neji was able to decode the funky code!" Little Naruto spoke up.

"Shhhhhh! Do you wanna get us caught?"Little Sakura punched him in the head.

"Ouch! Sorry, Little Sakura." Little Naruto said.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

The room was silent for each other. Then, Little Naruto's ears twitched.

"I know," He spoke up. "Let's consult the Pervy Sage about this. He knows a lot about seals. Maybe he can help us break it or seal it over."

"That's a great idea, Little Naruto. We'll go to his place early in the morning tomorrow. For now though, we need to get our beauty sleep." I fluffed my hair and yawned.

"Agreed." We all mumbled.

"Wait? Isn't anyone going to fill me in?" Pebbles asked.

"Just wait until morning, my friend. That's when we'll explain everything." I replied. "Goodnight to all."

"Goodnight to all." Everyone responded.

I laid back down, closed my eyes, and fell into a despondent sleep. It made me feel scared being one step closer to the truth. However, I feel better now that me and my friends have hope to fix this mistake; a chance to do the right thing.

Despite this, I fell asleep knowing that nightmares walked among us.

{Outside Neji's room}

"So they do have the scrolls. Just as I thought." One of Hiashi's guards was using his Byakugan to see through the door, while the other was eavesdropping.

"We should report this to Hiashi-sama. After all, this could be treasonous." The other one said as he started to walk away.

"Woah, partner. Hold on a sec, Yuki." The first guard who spoke grabbed the one known as Yuki by the back of his collar. "This may not be as bad as it seems."

"What the hell do you mean, Kazuki?" Yuki asked.

"For all we know, they could be one step closer to getting rid of the Caged Bird seal for good."

"B-but-"

"Oh, _come on_ Yuki! I doubt anyone is going to miss that wretched seal at all. Even Lady Hinata hates it; we all know that much. Do you want to follow Hiashi-sama's orders, **or** do you want to lend a helping hand in getting rid of this terrible curse that's been plaguing this clan for generations?" Kazuki shook Yuki's shoulders. "Do you!?"

"Yes, but even so, we could get fired for not informing our leader about these kind of things." Yuki protested.

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Kazuki wailed sarcastically. "What's the worst he can do? Disown us? Hang us? Chop our heads off with a guillotine? Place the curse mark on _us_? I don't think so." He scoffed.

"Oh no. I can actually do a lot worse." Another voice came from the end of the hallway.

"Hn. I doubt it." Kazuki stuck his nose up in the air.

The two did a double take. The person who spoke was Hiashi himself!

"Thank you Yuki, for almost being treasonous. I'll be giving you a raise by the end of this week." Hiashi patted Yuki on the shoulder.

"Goody-goody-two-shoes." Kazuki muttered under his breath.

"Now Yuki, keep a close eye on those Chibis while they're still here. Follow them if you have to. Especially Little Neji." Hiashi instructed.

Then he turned to face Kazuki. "And as for you, _Kazuki-san,_" He growled. "It's off to the bars with you! Today's you're lucky day; 'cause yo' ass is gettin' **caged**!" Hiashi cackled evilly.

"Aw, man! Come on! You trifling!" Kazuki shivered. "I don't deverve this! I'm too young to be caged!

Hiashi cackled evilly as he dragged the poor guard to his fate. "Oh, and Yuki," HE turned around. "Don't drink on duty."

"S-sure." Yuki stuttered.

Hiashi then continued to drag Kazuki to his unfortunate sealing.

"*Phew!* I'm just glad it wasn't me this time!" Yuki sighed as he looked through the wall with his Byakugan.


	12. Chapter 12

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 12: Love, Negotiation, and consequence

"Mnnn...*Yawn!*" I yawned as I opened my eyes. "What..where am I?"

"Neji!" Tenten squealed. "You're finally awake!" She hugged me.

That's when the memories of last night came back to me. Again.

"Tenten?"

"Yes?" She leaned on my shoulder.

"Did we...did I...did-"

"Yes, we-"

"Lost our virginity?"

"I was going to say 'had sex' but that works too." Tenten replied.

I was...well, kinda in shock. We did have sex last night; and it was pretty damn good. [Insert blush] Sure, this would probably complicate a lot of things:

_'But screw that!'_ My heart screamed. _'I don't give a &$! what anyone's going to say or think. I love her, and nobody's going to change that.'_

"Neji," Tenten squeezed my hand. "I love you."

"I love you too, angel." I ran my fingers through her hair, playing with the ends. "We really should get going, though. Our friends might question our dissepearence."

"You're right...what time is it?" Tenten asked me.

"It's..." I looked over at the digital clock. "11: 45."

"Oh...**11:45!" **Tenten yelped."Neji, we have to get going! Um...where are my clothes?"

I lanced at something pink with white daisies on it. It was...

"Tenten, I think I found your underwear."

"Thanks!" She snatched it from me quickly.

{Central Park-12:00 p.m.-Tenten's P.O.V}

"Hey guys! Are we late?" I panted.

Neji and I had to get dressed and get to Central Park in less than 15 minutes. You'd think that leave me winded, but it didn't. Was it because we passed this place last night?

"Where were you guys? You were supposed to be here, like, 30 minutes ago!" Naruto asked.

"Naruto-kun, just chill would you?" Tsunade spoke up. She cleared her throat and made eye-contact with all of us. "Okay, guys. We have 6 more hours until we fly to Washington D.C. Which means we have at least four hours to complete one last minute mission!"

"And what would that be, Hokagè-sama?" Neji asked.

"LAST MINUITE SHOPPING!" Tsunade squealed.

"!" Most of us squealed.

"I wanna eat at a ramen shop!"

"I can't wait to go to Hot Topic!"

"I'll go wherever Sauske-kun is going!"

"Awesome! I can't wait to see the local blacksmith!" I grinned.

"Um Tenten, this is _America._ If you want a weapon, you either buy a gun or purchase one illegally."(1.) Neji replied.

"Don't be such a killjoy, Hyuga." Tsunade scolded him.

"You heard the Hokagè, Neji. No being a killjoy." I pouted.

"Hn."

"Alright. Now meet back at Central Park at 4:00 p.m. We'll go back to the hotel to get our stuff from here. Is that understood?"

"Hai!"

{Back at the Hyuga Compound-4:50 a.m.- Little Naruto's P.O.V}

"*PST! PSSSSSSST!* Wake up, you guys!" Little Neji shook me awake.

"*Nng!* Naru...Naru...huh? Oh!" I groaned as I jumped up. "That's right! We gotta wake up now."

"I'll get the girls. You get the rest of the boys."

"Hai." I replied.

After 5 more minutes, everyone was awake. Groggy and nauseous, yes, but awake nonetheless.

"Alright, guys. This is the day that we've been preparing for. Now girls will get ready in the bathroom down the hall, and boys will get ready here. Let's aim for being ready in 15 minutes." Little Neji said.

"Wait...won't that mean that we'll have to shower together in order to save time?" Teddy-chan asked.

"Is there a _problem _with that?" Little Neji glared a needle at her.

"No, Little Neji-kun." She answered with as much harshness.

_'Gosh. These guys are kinda like their Chibi owners.' _I thought to myself.

"Alright guys. Let's break!" Little Neji said.

"Hai!" We whispered loudly.

{15 minutes later}

After getting fully dressed, Little Neji tossed me the scrolls.

"Here." He said. "Now put these in your knapsack. You have the money, right?"

"Yeah, but i'm gonna need a 10-yen cut from everyone."

Little Neji sighed and rolled his eyes. He then walked over to a drawer, pulled out a piggy bank, and gave me 70 yen. "Here. _**Now**_ can we go?"

"Um, sure." I smiled a soft smile.

"Okay, guys. Now around this time, the Hyuga guards are starting to suffer from their hangovers. Their Byakugan is still a bit hazy, but there's still quite a chance of getting caught. So be on the lookout 'kay?"

"Okay." We all replied.

We slipped out of the room, a few at a time, until everyone was out. We then tiptoed carefully down the hallways, making sure not to arouse any suspicion. Every now and then, a Hyuga guard would perk up and mumble something incoherent. Others swore. All in all, we were precautious for no reason, but I guess you can never be too safe. Especially when another person's freedom is on the line.

We were just about to make it when all of a sudden, a sober guard jumped in front of us.

"Hey, you!" He bellowed. "What are you kids doing out?"

"Augh! Run, everyone!" Little Neji shouted.

We split up into many directions and ran around the guy. He bent down to try and scoop up Little Hinata, but I pulled her through his legs.

"Alright, guys! C'mon!" I shouted as we ran through the door of the Hyuga Clan.

As soon as I ran 25 steps away from that place, I grew out three more tails and took to the air.

"Okay, Little Naruto! From here on out, you call the shots." Little Neji smirked.

"You better be ready to follow my lead then!" I called.

{Outside Jiraya's Place}

"Well, well, well..." Jiraya sniffed the air and grinned. "If the air doesn't smell like pretty women today! I just might go out prowling again...but of course, there's always Anko to consider." He chuckled.

"To! Toooooooo!" [Jiraya! Jirayaaaaaaaaaa!] A Chibi's voice sounded.

"Well, if it isn't Little Naruto." He smirked as he looked up in the sky. "I guess I can delay my woman-prowling for a few hours."

_'It seems as if he's brought company, too.'_ Jiraya then turned to look at the six other Chibis behind him. He then spotted Little Neji. _'Hey...isn't he that kid who thought I was some magical Sanin genie?'_

The group made it to Jiraya's door in less than half a minute.

"Jiraya-san! Jiraya-san! We're sorry if we're interrupting your schedule, but we need your help!" Little Neji nearly shouted.

"Now, I know you guys want to respect me, but there's no need for all the "Jiraya-san" and the "Mr. Toad Sage" stuff. Jiraya is just fine.

"Naruto-to!" [Okay, Pervy Sage!] Little Naruto replied.

Jiraya turned around to glare at Little Naruto. He then refocused his attention on the small(as in height) crowd.

"Anyway," He started. "What do you guys need help with?"

"We need help with possibly making history and freeing a whole enslaved race." Teddy-Bear-Tenten answered.

"Well in that case, why don't you all come inside and we'll discuss this over several cups of tea." Jiraya opened the door and let them all in.

However, there was darkness lurking over the group. It was in the form of a shadow, carrying a walkie-talkie.

"Hawk reporting. The prey has been spotted. I repeat, the prey has been spotted."

"Well done, Yuki." The voice on the other end had responded. "You are useful for something, after all. Now I want you to keep close tabs on you understand?"

"Yes, Hiashi-sama." He replied. "I will not fail you."

"Good. Now go."

"Yes, sir."

{Jiraya's place-One long-winded explanation later}

"So that's why you wanted me to grant you a wish so desperately." Jiraya sighed.

"Yes." Little Neji replied. "Oh, and thanks for your wise words. They were really helpful."

"Sakura?" [So, do you think you can help us?]

"I don't know..." Jiraya sighed. "Usually, clan affairs are left to the clan to handle. Even the Hokagè as little power over these kinds of things."

"Sauske?" [How come?]

"It's because that clans like the Hyuga and Uchiha, for example, have been around before the founding of the village. They were some of the founding fathers of this village."

"So when they joined Konoha, they came with their power still intact." Pebbles added.

"Exactly." Jiraya said.

"Hinata-nata. Hi-nataaaaaa-nataaaaa." [And then there were the rules, traditions and regulations that were established in those clans before Konoha. Written and unwritten laws.]

"So trying to pick a fight with these guys would not only be difficult and asking for trouble, but could be seen as an act of tyranny." Jiraya sternly replied.

"Oh..." Most of the Chibis sighed.

"But..." The Chibis looked up in hope and surprise. "I'll need to see what you've got first."

Little Neji's face lit up in joy. "Of course!" He turned to face Little Naruto. "Fox, gimme the scrolls!"

"I'm already on it." Little Naruto tossed him the scrolls and pulled out the wad of yen with his tail.

"Here's the purpose of the Caged Bird seal and the directions on how to make it. Broken down into extreme detail."

"So, you want me to find a way to either seal this thing over-"

"Or reverse it completely." Little Neji interrupted.

"Wow...I don't know-"

"Narutoooooooooooooooooooooo-to!" [We understand if you want some sort of cash out of this. Which is why we scraped up 5,000 yen. Cold cash, too!] Little Naruto proudly trotted up to the table on all fours, and placed the wad on the coffee table with his tail.

"Wow...thanks. As much as I appreciate and am very impressed by this; I'm not going to accept this."

"*Pfft!*To-Naruto. To-_Naru._" [It's not bribery, it's payment.]

"Which is even worse, because we're family." Jiraya smiled. He rubbed the blond Chibi's fox-like ears. "Besides, I have other ways of making money. You're not the only one with hustle in your spirit."

"To!" [Thanks!]

"So, I'll see what I can do. However, I can't guarantee anything, so don't get your hopes up too high."

"Thanks, Jiraya. Just you trying to help us is a good enough reason for us to." Teddy-Bear-Tenten smiled.

"Woah, now hold up, Teddy-Bear. I haven't even started working yet!" He nervously chuckled. "Now you kids hurry up and get out of here. I have a feeling that you shouldn't be out here anyway."

As if on cue, the Sanin's door burst down and flaked into thousands of splinters. Everyone covered their eyes to shield them from the flying debris.

All of a sudden, a Hyuga guard and few other persons jumped into the doorway and shouted:

**"FREEZE! BY HYUGA LAW, YOU'RE WANTED FOR HIJACKING IMPORTANT INFO, SELLING OUR SECRETS, AND _TIARA-THEFT AUTO!"_**

"Huh...TIARA THEFT AUTO?" We all screamed.

)

U

The Author's Block!

Hey, guys! I decided to try out my first cliffhanger for this story. _**Dun-Dun-Dunnnnn! **_Pretty good, huh? Well...

(1.)-Too bad Neji doesn't know about our shanks, machetties, and swiss army knives. If he had known that, then he would've totally taken that back.

'Till next time though,

imma stay posted!

-Yoshi.C!


	13. Chapter 13

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 13: What awaits us next?

"Can I open my eyes now, Neji?" Tenten asked.

"Okay...now!" He said.

She opened her eyes to one of the most beautiful cafè's she had ever seen. It was like a group of lacy outdoor patios, with a touch of spring on each one. There were fancy napkins on luminous china plates and shining silverware. It looked enchanting.

"Wow...Neji, it looks beautiful!" Tenten turned around to look at him. She literally beamed with joy.

"I thought you would." Neji kissed he cheek. "Now let's order something."

"Okay."

{20 minutes later}

A few good dishes later, our favorite couple had started reminiscing over good times.

"You know..." Tenten sighed after calming down. "I'm surprised nobody's found out after so long."

"Found out about what?" Neji asked.

"About us." Tenten replied. "I mean, it's been four years since we've been a couple, and we've been serious for a while."

"Well, people might be finding out really soon."

"Really? And how is that?" Tenten asked.

Neji breathed in slowly and looked away.

_'I have to do this now! I can't freeze up and get scared." _Neji grasped for the blue-black box in his back pocket. "Tenten, you might want to stand up for this."

"Um, okay." Tenten stood up slowly.

Neji gently took Tenten's hands into his and got on one knee.

_'Is he...is he going to do what I think he is?' _Tenten thought.

"Tenten...will you..." He pulled out the box and popped it open. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh my Kami...Neji-kun." Tenten breathed.

Neji kissed her hand gently. "Look...I'll understand if this is a little early for you, but I need you to know that I love you." Neji looked deeply into her brown orbs. "I love you so much, and i'm willing to do whatever it takes to say to make you say yes."

"Kiss me." She whispered.

"...huh?"

"You heard me, Hyuga." Tenten got on her knees. "Kiss me."

Neji leaned in for a deep, long, passionate kiss. By the time they released, they were both out of breath, and in a clouded daze.

"Yes. Yes, I'll marry you Hyuga Neji." Tenten grinned. Then her features turned into a questioning look. "But, it's not because you made love to me, is it?"

"No! I've been meaning to propose for some time, but-"

"You wanted to find the right moment. I understand."

Neji took out the kunai pendant(which turned out to really be a ring) and slid it onto Tenten's index finger.

"Oh Neji, it's beautiful!" She picked up the two tiny shurriken. "And these must be earrings. They're going to be hard to put on." Tenten touched a hand to one of her unpierced earlobes.

"Don't worry, Ten-chan." He placed them on her ears for her. "They're clip-ons."

"Oh! That's wonderful, Neji." She smiled.

"Now let's go and do some shopping while we still can." Neji picked her up bridal style. "I was thinking we could start looking for wedding dresses."

"Oh, really?" She smiled. Now that sounds like fun."

{Back at the Hyuga Compound-Outside of Hiashi's Office-Teddy-Bear-Tenten's P.O.V}

"Mama Tenten, where are you?" I sighed. "I sure hope you're having fun in America, 'cause you're gonna be owing me a bunch of stories."

"Whacha' talking about, Teddy-chan?" Pebbles asked.

"Nothing important, Pebbles. Nothing important."

"I sure hope Little Naruto is doing okay. You know how he is when he gets under pressure." Pebbles sighed.

"I'm sure Little Naruto will be okay." Little Neji said. "It's Little Sakura i'm worried about. She looked like she was ready to break down."

"Little Sauske didn't look any better either. That's probably the closest thing i've seen to an emo kid losing it." I said. "I'm surprised Little Hinata held up as well as she did."

"That's why you should never underestimate a shy person. Little Hinata may be shy, but very bold and outspoken for a Hyuga." Little Neji smiled.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, i'd say that she got it from Little Naruto." I chuckled.

"I wonder what's going to happen to us?" Little Neji asked out loud.

He was hugging his favorite blanket and reading his favorite _A-B-C American-English _ book.

That silenced us all. The tension started to hang in the air. We didn't know what was going to happen to us, and I didn't want to know.

Then the door opened and the Team Kakashi Chibis and Little Hinata came out. They all had blank looks on their faces.

"Guys! What'd they say?" I asked them.

"Say about what?" Little Naruto asked.

"You know...did you guys get in trouble?" Pebbles asked.

"Get in trouble for what? I don't know what you're talking about." Little Sauske shrugged his shoulders.

"Uh-oh..." Little Neji gasped. Then he leaned in and whispered in my ear. "I think they erased some part of their memory.

"Erased? Naw, I don't think so. They just went through some severe temporary brainwashing." A Hyuga Head randomly responded with a chuckle.

"What? What kind of severe temporary brainwashing?" Pebbles asked.

"I...love...Lady...Gaga..." Little Sauske murmured.

"Jared Leto...30SecondstoMars..." Little Sakura and Little Hinata drooled.

"Beyoncèèèèèèèèèè..." Little Naruto sighed.

"Oh no..." My mouth was agape with shock. "They were brainwashed by their favorite singers/bands!"

"If my Daddy Neji's freedom didn't hang in the balance because of this, then this would've been hilarious!" Little Neji wailed. "Oh, the cruel irony of it all!"

"Little Neji, put that camera up. We're about to get in trouble, and you're making a YouTube video about it!" I shook my head at him. "You know, sometimes you make me wonder.

"Little Neji-kun, come here." Hiashi's voice boomed.

The three of us gulped in fear. We didn't know why he asked for him specificly, but we knew it wasn't for brainwashing.

"Well guys," He gulped. "Wish me luck."

Little Neji then stood up and walked in courageously.

{Inside Hiashi's Office-Little Neji's P.O.V}

"I admire your strength, Little Neji. To have gotten this far is indeed a personal best for you. As a matter of factly," Hiashi stopped pacing around to look at me."This is a personal best for all Branch members. Heck, this might even beat your Chibi owner's ability to learn most of the jutsu reserved for the Main Family."

"Wow!" I breathed. "My Daddy Neji did _that_?"

"_Naw,_ no-gaki! He _invented_ them!" Hiashi said sarcastically.

I decided to play innocent and naïve anyway. (Just to piss him off. *wink!*)

"Oh, wow! Now **that's **cool!" I exclaimed.

Hiashi smacked himself in the forehead. "No, you imbecile! Neji-kun isn't _that_ creative!"

"Hey! Don't you ever underestimate my Daddy Neji! He's the smartest person I know, and he won't take this sitting down either!" I crossed my arms.

"Little Neji, you've been a thorn in my side for too long. It's time that I put you in your place. Your real place!" He glared at me.

"I know my place. My place is freedom, that's my place!" I glared right back at him.

That's when Hiashi started forming hand seals. They seemed vaugely familiar at first, but then it hit me like a ton of bricks: those were the hand seals for the Caged Bird Seal!

"Oh, crap!" I leapt out of the way before he pounced for me. There was a huge explosion and a bunch of flying debris before the smoke cleared. There was a huge crater in the wall, and in the heart of the crater there was a sea green swastika.

"Congratulations! You just P. a wall! Have fun 'having your way' with it." I smirked.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME, YOU INSOLENT BASTARD?" Hiashi screamed.

"Nothing you probably didn't want to hear." I smirked again.

"**AAAAAUGGH!**" Hiashi roared.

I giggled. This _was _fun! No wonder Sonic liked to ridicule Egg-Man all the time. I made a break for the door, but Hiashi skidded to a halt in front of me.

"Well," I chuckled. "Look who's decided to play Sonic the Hedgehog?"

I ran through his legs and hit a few of the chakra points in his legs.

"Ouch!" He yelled.

I then swerved around and hit a few in his back. That's when he swung his leg around. I grabbed it and let myself go after a few spins. That's when I landed in between two tall bookshelves. Luckily, i've been practicing my Mario skills, so I easily wall jumped between the two shelves. I made it to the top of one and looked down at the man that was supposed to be my grand-uncle.

_'How ironic.'_ I thought. _'We're family fighting family. This isn't right, but freedom's hanging in the balance.'_

"Hey, oji-sama! I thought that Chibis weren't considered members of the Hyuga clan; yet you want to cage me. Is there not hypocrisy in that?"

"I'm the leader of this clan! I can do whatever the hell I want!" Hiashi yelled.

He then built up a large amount of chakrain his hand, and slammed it against against the bookshelf. The whole structure came crashing down; with me coming down with it. However, before I hit the boards and debris, Hiashi had grabbed me by my neck with one hand and started strangling me.

"Now I can put you in your place!" He snarled evilly. The anger glinted in his eyes.

_'And, this is the part when it isn't fun anymore.' _I grabbed his wrist and sent a spike of chakra through his veins.

"Ow! That hurt!" Hiashi dropped me, but grabbed my left thigh with his other hand.

As soon as he did, I felt a sharp pain that pierced my left thigh with so much force, I screamed loudly. It hurt so bad, and I seemed to lose all control of my left leg. I couldn't feel anything but the pain. It was driving me crazy and seemed to be eating me alive. I couldn't even tell if I was screaming or crying anymore. Everything was turning pitch black.

The last things I saw were flashers of brown ears, an orange tail, and pink, black, green and indigo shades.

{Hours later}

"Little Neji...Little Neji-nii-sama, are you okay?" I heard a soft, sweet voice call out to me.

"Hn..." I groaned. My vision was kind of swimmy, but I saw a glowing, tall figure overlooking me. It has a warm aura. "are you the mother I've always dreamed of having?"

"No, Little Neji! It's me, Little Hinata." My vision began to clear, and alas, I saw my cousin's face.

"W-what happened?" I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain coursed through my body. I cried out in agony and laid back down.

"You were...you might want to look for yourself." She got a mirror and tilted it just right so I could see the reflection myself.

What I saw terrified me. On my thigh was a sea green swastika. My throat went dry; my breaths came out short and raspy. My thoughts were jumbling together, and yet they were becoming blank at the same time. The only thought that I could conjure was: I'm caged.

"Little Neji," I felt my cousin grasp my hand. "calm down."

Then another thought struck me: I had failed my Daddy. I had done everything in my power to try and free him, but it was all in vain now. I was in the same cage he was.

"We failed, Little Hinata. I...I...I've failed-"

"No we haven't! Just because you're been sealed doesn't mean it's over! Jiraya's working on a cure for this, remember? This isn't the end!" Little Hinata shook my shoulders.

That's when I had an epiphany! " Hey Little Hinata! If Jiraya's trying to seal over or reverse the seal, then he's probably going to need something tangent to work with-"

"Like...like a seal? Little Neji, you're not thinking of letting Jiraya use you as a test dummy, are you?"

"It'd help him progress his research much faster, and-"

"Little Neji, are you crazy? That's dangerous!"

"I don't care. I'm five years old, and i'm not gonna throw the skies away just 'cause i'm being locked up just for a few people's security."

"B-but-"

"Just think of it this way, Little Hinata. Chibis live to be up to 200 years old; so I still have 195 years ahead of me. I don't plan to waste them."

"I'd rather have you here than have you not live out those years! Nii-sama, you know that what you're doing can very well get you killed!"

"Really?" I quirked.

"Of course. Seals are dangerous, powerful things. One mishap, and you could pretty much say goodbye to your life."

"Yes, but the Caged Bird seal is just as deadly."

Little Hinata ran her fingers through her hair. I knew that I was wearing her down, and I wasn't going to lay off either.

"You know what," Little Hinata threw her her hands up in the air. "Just think about it. Before you do something it, get up for something, heck, feel something-just think about it."

"Thanks nii-chan." I smiled.

"Now do you want to see everyone else or what?" She smiled.

"Of course. Bring them in." I said.

Little Naruto, Little Sakura, Little Sauske, Teddy-chan, and Pebbles walked in quickly. They all had concerned looks on their faces, especially Teddy-chan.

"LITTLE NEJI!" She wailed.

_'Woah! She wasted no time overreacting.'_ I thought.

"Little Neji, I thought...I thought you were a goner!" She threw her arms around my body and started sobbing uncontrollably.

_'Did __**I**__ think __**she**__ was overreacting? Heh! How stupid was __**I**__, huh?'_ I mentally smacked myself in the head. I must've freaked her out when I passed out.

"It's okay, Teddy-chan." I somehow found the power to sit up and embrace her. "I'm fine."

"Does your seal still hurt?" Pebbles asked me, his eyes full of fear.

I felt myself turning Blanche white. "What...h-how-"

"It's okay, Little Neji. We know." Little Sauske said. "We saw it when we carried you into this room."

"Where are we, anyway?" I started to rub Teddy-chan's ears as I looked around. It was small, but we were pretty small too; so it could've been just me.

"Oh. We're in a supply closet. Don't worry, though. We have so many, that nobody's gonna suspect anything!" Little Hinata smiled proudly.

Just then,(as if to contradict Little Hinata's confidence) the door swung open and in came a burly-looking guard.

"Hey! What are you pesky Chibis doing in here?" He growled.

"Oh! Hey, um...Little Sakura, now!" Little Hinata cried out.

Little Sakura pulled a can out of her back pocket and tossed it to my cousin. She sprayed it in the guard's face, and knocked him out swiftly.

"C'mon, guys! Let's make a break for it!" Pebbles and Teddy-chan grabbed me by my hands and put me on Little Sauske's back.

We ran as fast as we could that moment.

{Later that night}

Later that night, I laid on my back thinking about a lot of things. I didn't want to lose my life, but I didn't want to sit around doing absolutely nothing. I **had** to act **somehow**.

I sat up slowly. I still had a throbbing headache, and my left leg was hurting and a bit weak, but I wasn't ready to give in. Not just yet. I got out of bed and looked out the window. The moon was high in the sky. Just the place where I wanted to be...

{Jiraya's house}

"*Sigh!* I have at least 87% percent of the material I need, but I just need something else. Something's missing." The Toad Sage ran his fingers through his silver hair.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Jiraya sighed and mumbled a few curses under his breath.

_'I'm really getting too old for visitors. Maybe I should just have less friends.' _He thought.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"Somebody you'll need if you want to destroy the seal completely." The Sage froze completely at that familiar voice.

He opened the door quickly and was shocked to see Little Neji limping on the other side of his door.

"You need 13% more percent, don't you?" He looked him dead in the eye. "Then let me be that 13%"

((

(

U

Author's Block!

Hey, guys! This is probably the longest chapter in my writing history that i've written by far. I've got to say, I'm impressed; even by myself. I never thought i'd get the story to be this far!

I wasn't expecting Little Neji to get Caged either, but something at the corner of my heart wouldn't let that scene go.

Wow! This block just made it 10 pages! Woo-hoo!

Well, you know who it goes...

'till next time though,

imma stay posted!

-Yoshi.C!


	14. Chapter 14

The Key to One's Soul

By:SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 14: Getting their way around...

Earlier the very next day, fate(as Neji would say) would have it that two more security guards were chatting about our favorite Chibi and Chibi owner. Neji and Little Neji, to be exact...

* * *

"You know, I don't like that Hyuga Neji and his Chibi. I think he's getting the clan head to play favorites."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He may not act like it, but that Chibi is slowly worming its' way into his heart."

"And the closer that thing gets closer to him-"

"The closer Neji gets to him. I mean, think about it. Not even Hiashi likes Hinata that much."

"Yes, but there's always Hanabi."

"Yes. There's _always _a Hanabi in every situation, thank God."

"You mean Kami."

"No, God. I converted to Christianity, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that's right."

"So...they think I like to pick favorites, huh?" Hiashi smirked as he deactivated his Byakugan. "In that case, I guess it's good Hana-chan taught me how to read lips." He walked away from the wall and started pacing around. "Well, I'll prove those drunks wrong. I'll show that Little Neji who's boss; and I'll make sure his precious "Daddy Neji" gets it coming to him too!" He chuckled evilly. "As a matter of factly...maybe I'll get to place a permanent cork in his mouth, and on his life! Muhahahahaha-*Hic!*"

Just then, Pebbles and Little Sauske came running around the corner in a hurry. Pebbles had crumbs on his face, and Little Sauske had some toilet paper stuck on his foot.

"Hey, no running in this house! At least not where I can see you." Hiashi held his hand up to signal them to stop. "Now, what are you guys doing?"

"Um, we're looking for Little Neji." Pebbles muttered, taking another bite out of his dumpling.

"Ke. Saus-ke." [Yeah. Little Neji.}

"Well, when you find him, let me know and tell him to come see me." Hiashi smirked evilly.

"Sure. We'll take care to do that." Pebbles smiled softly.

Hiashi then stormed of, cackling and chatting away to himself.

"Saus-keeeeeeeeeeeeeeee." [Uh-oooohhhhh.]

"Uh-oh is right. We gotta get this info to the guys." Pebbles gasped.

{Somewhere else in the mansion}

"Narutoooooooooooooooooooooo! Narutoooooooooooooooooooooo!" [Little Nejiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Little !] Little Naruto turned around in a full circle and cried out in despair. "Narutoooooooooooooooooooooo!" [Little !]

"He's not in the kitchen!" Pebbles skidded to a halt in front of us while wiping some crumbs off his face.

"Sauske-Sauske-Sauske." [He's not in any of the ladies' rooms, either.]

"Why would he be there?" Teddy-Bear-Tenten asked.

"Um...Sauske, Sauske!" [Um...well, you never know!]

"Whatever. Anyway, he's not in the East or West wings." Teddy-chan said. "Saku-Sakuraaaaaa." [He's not in the Hyuga Gardens.]

"Naru-to-to?" [Then where can he be?]

Just then, as if on cue, Little Hinata ran out of the room her and the Chibis were staying in.

"Guys, have any of you guys seen Little Neji?" She asked in Chibi. "I can't find him anywhere!"

"Naru-to-to." [Neither can we.]

"Saus-keeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, Sauske!" [Yeah. And Hiashi-san needs him.]

"Yeah, and I think he was angry at him, too." Pebbles shuddered.

That's when Little Hinata's eyes popped open in fear.

"Nata..." [Guys...]

Everyone turned to face the Chibi of the Hyuga Heiress, hanging on to her every word for dear life.

"Hinata-nata-nata..." [I think I know where Little Neji is...]

{Jiraya's place-9:00 a.m.}

"Okay, Little Neji. I think..." Jiraya panted. "I think it's ready now."

"Great!" Little Neji panted. "I can't...*pant!* wait to*pant!* show Little Hinata-"

"HINATA-NATA!" [You monster!] Hinata burst down the door with a single Juyyken. "Hinata-nata-nata!" [I betcha' you've killed him already, you-]

"Little Hinata, it's okay!" Little Neji rolled off the couch. He then stood up and pulled his pajama pant legs up. "Look!"

Where the seal used to be was now...gone. There was only a slight faded outline of where the seal used to be.

"Jiraya said that that mark would probably disappear in 24 hrs." He grinned.

"My God..." Teddy-chan breathed. "He did it. He really did it!"

"It's an honest to goodness miracle.' Pebbles breathed.

"Wow!" All of the other Chibis gasped.(and this time, it wasn't in Chibi!)

"Here." Jiraya handed them a bottle of salve and two scrolls. "Now this salve is supposed to be put on the seal before using the jutsu. The hand seals and ingredients are in these two scrolls right here.

"Naruto! Naru-Naru-Naruto-" [Thanks, Jiraya! If there's anything we can do to thank you-]

"No need to, Little Naruto. The pleasure was all mine." The Toad Sage grinned.

Just then, a quiet knock sounded from the door.

"Go, hide." Jiraya told the Chibis. Nobody dared to protest as they ran into another room and hid under a mattress. Jiraya then went to the door to answer it.

"Hello. Who are you?" He asked the person at the door.

"I heard that you were acquainted with Little Neji, Little Naruto, and their freinds?" He asked.

"Hey...you look like a Hyuga guard. Listen, they're not here at the moment,so-"

"Please," The guard removed the cloth covering his forehead. "I'm...my name is Kazuki Hyuga of the Hyuga Clan. I heard that these Chibis were developing a removal for this curse and that they were seeking help through you. So..."

Jiraya sighed. "Wait a second. Let me go and grab something." Jiraya walked back inside his apartment and went into the room where the Chibis were hiding. "The guy's a Hyuga guard who's been sealed. He seems like he wants to be freed.

"Naru-Naru-Naruto?" [But how do we know we can trust him?] Little Naruto asked.

"Trust me, I know Hyugas They would've made a big show of things if he were trying to arrest us."

"Alright. Let him in." Little Neji sighed.

Jiraya let the guard in with much hesitation, and slowly closed the door behind him. "You do know the magnitude reaction to an action like this, right? You could be disowned, hanged, killed,-"

"Murdered, become a rouge ninja, exiled, tried for treason, arrested, yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. I've heard it all, and honestly, I don't care. I just want this stupid seal off my forehead." He sighed.

"Alright." Jiraya looked behind him and called out. "Chibis, you can come out now."

The Chibis carefully stumbled out from under the mattress and into the room.

"Give me the salve and the scrolls." Jiraya spoke up. "Now, i'm going to show you guys how to work this jutsu, but you have to really pay attention..."

{Washington D.C.- 11:00 p.m.}

"Neji, look at the stars. Aren't they pretty?" Tenten sighed.

The couple was now sitting on top of the White House in Washington D.C. The stars glistened in the beautiful American sky, and the moon was full; basting the lawn in a beautiful luminous green.

"Yes, Ten-chan. They are beautiful." Neji sighed. He laid a kiss on her forehead.

The warm summer wind seemed to caress them in the right way, lulling Neji to sleep...

{Neji's Dreamland}

"Daddy...Daddy...DADDY!" Neji heard Little Neji's voice screaming out to him.

"Little Neji..." Neji's eyes pried open. "I'm...coming."

He opened his eyes, only to see that he was floating in a vast space. It was dark and empty and he couldn't see anything at first. His eyesight quickly adjusted and then he saw a small dot far on the opposite side of him.

"Da-ddyyyyy!" Little Neji's voice sounded from the dot.

_'So that's where his voice is coming from.'_ He ran towards the small dot.

No matter how fast he tried to run, his running was always slowed down, thus making him run in slow motion. It was running against a strong wave of cement. Finally, after a few agonizing moments, Neji could finally make out the form of his Chibi.

"Little Neji!Little Neji, you're oka-"

"Daddy, help me!" The Chibi wailed. "Help me, Daddy!"

"What's wrong, Chibi dove? Are you okay?"

That's when Neji noticed the seal on Little Neji's left thigh. His heart started beating faster in fear.

"No.." He managed to choke out.

Before he could be fully thrown into panic, a bright glow reflected off the Chibi's body. Then, in a matter of seconds, the seal melted magically.

"Don't worry, Daddy. I'm fine. You're gonna be free, Daddy." Little Neji smiled and reached out to touch him. "You're finally going to be free!"

"Chibi dove..." Neji reached out and touched his hand before falling into darkness.

_'Finally free...finally free...finally free...' _Neji thought to himself over and over again.

{Dream over}

Neji's eyes shot open in shock and anticipation. The dream...the dream seemed so real, and-

"Neji? Neji, are you okay?" Tenten spoke up. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Well...not exactly." Neji said. "Everywhere was like a black hole. I could barely move. Then I saw Little Neji. He had the Caged Bird seal on his thigh, but then his body glowed and it melted away. Then he said: Don't worry, Daddy. I'm fine. You're gonna be free, Daddy. You're finally going to be free!" Neji nodded his head. "It was more like a vision instead of a dream."

"Well, maybe it's a good sign!" Tenten softly smiled. "Maybe he's been able to find a way to reverse of seal or seal it over!"

"Really?" Neji asked.

"If I know your Little Neji-kun, my Teddy-chan, and their freinds, the yes. Probably so."

"I don't know Tenten." Neji sighed. "What if it's not even that? What if it was really just a dream? Or worse yet, Little Neji was caged and I wasn't there to try and stop the Hyuga Elders?" Neji gulped.

"Just have hope, Neji." Tenten wound his hair around her fingers and kissed his hair. "Just have hope."

{At the Hyuga Compound-Sometime in the morning}

"Now what can I do to those two twerps that will not only strike fear into them, but into the whole Hyuga Clan as well?" Hiashi puzzled to himself. "Well, I guess there's only one thing I can do in order to whip those two into shape." Hiashi growled as he stomped into his office. "But first-"

Hiashi closed the door, locked it, closed all of the blinds, and went into the far right corner of his room. He pulled up some loose floorboards there, and pulled out a small book. He ripped off the book cover(which happened to be black) only to reveal a black cover.*Dun! Dun! Dun!* However, it was what was on the cover that would give any non-monogamous man or woman shivers of thrills and disgust down their spines:

Hiashi's Sock it to 'em gross, gold digging ,knockout dense, whorish, incest and nasty-as-hell Chicktionary

"That's right, baby! I haven't pulled you out in 19 years, but now it's time to put you into drive!" He grinned evilly. "I'm gonna give him the nastiest, grossest, most gold digging, crazy dense, whorish knockout he's never seen coming _in his lifetime! _As a matter of factually, I'll make sure she's so stupid, that even her breasts are full of air!" He cackled. "So let's get cracking! Speaking of which, it's a good thing I-"

* * *

"-he's sent out guards to guard every corner of the Mansion on high alert," Kazuki sighed. "And they're looking to capture all seven of you."

"So I guess that means the guards are sober." Little Neji rolled his eyes in frustration.

"If I were you, I'd go hide out at a friend's parent's place." Kazuki said to the Chibis. "As for you Jiraya, I think you should make yourself scarce as soon as possible."

"Thanks, but what about you, Kazuki?" Jiraya asked.

"Don't worry. Me and my Crayola sea green marker will keep those bigoted fools stalling long enough for you guys to escape." Kazuki pulled out the said marker and smiled.

"You know, now that you think about it, you guys aren't probably safe in Konoha either." Jiraya thought out loud to himself.

"But if we leave the village, then we'll either become fugitives or be considered rogues." Pebbles spoke up.

"Not exactly. All we have to do it go to the far outskirts of Konoha. There are some really small towns where news never circulates. Trust me, we'll be safe there." Jiraya replied.

"Sauske...Sauske-Sauske?" [Wait...did you just say we?]

"Are you kidding me? I'm not going to leave you Chibis out here alone to get caught. As strong as you are, you're still young, which leaves you guys vulnerable." The toad Sage reasoned. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to pick up some Chibi clothes for you guys. Since the Hokagè's not here, I'll have to go to the Village Elders first, and then we can head up on outta here."

"Sa-Saku-Sakura?" [But what are you gonna tell them?]

"Trust me, guys. Leave it all up to me!" The Sanin grinned a reassuring grin.

)

U

Author's Block!

Hey, guys! I'm glad where this story is headed! Now the leaving of Konoha was a surprising twist, but they're not really leaving; just traveling to the far skirts of the village! Neji, Tenten, and the others will be returning from their trip to Washington very soon, so read up and keep reading! Reviews really make my day, peoples! Oh, and don't forget to check out my other stories!

till next time though

imma stay posted!

-Yoshi.C!


	15. Chapter 15

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 15: Gettin' the hell up outta here!

"Phew!" I'm glad that's over!" Jiraya sighed. "I was afraid that they were never gonna let me go." Jiraya looked down at the gym bag he was carrying. "Thank goodness we're in the clear."

Some shuffling noises came from the gym bag before two orange ears poked out along with a crop of blond hair.

"Naru-to?" [Are we there yet?] The bag asked.

"Nope. Not yet. But we'll be there soon." Jiraya spoke up.

A few hours later, Jiraya set the bag down outside what seemed to be a log cabin. He pulled out a key and opened the door.

"Aaaaahhh..." Jiraya breathed. He brought in the gym bag and set it down on the floor. "Okay, you an come out now."

Two-by-three-by-two the Chibis crawled out of the bag.

"So," Jiraya turned around to close the door. "How is it?"

"It looks cozy." Teddy-Bear-Tenten smiled. "Kind of like those old cabins that they had back in the day."

"Naru-Naru-Naruto!" [This is gonna be tons of fun!]

"Saus-Sauske!" [Tell me about it!]

"Sakura!" [Yeah!]

"Now, I'm glad you guys are happy about staying here, but I need you to be careful. My cell number and all the numbers that are important are on the fridge. My home phone has caller I.D. If it isn't my number, then don't pick it up. Okay?" (1.)

"Okay!"

"Okay!"

"Okay!"

"Nata!" [Alright!]

"To!" [Okay]

"Ke!" ['Kay!]

"Sakura!" [Yes, sir!]

"Alright!" Jiraya smiled. "Oh! Do any of you guys know when your parents are returning?"

"*Pish!*...Naw." Everyone said.

"Wait! I think they're coming back on Friday!" Pebbles suggested.

"Yeah. I think so, too." Little Neji replied.

"Well in that case, then we have to figure out our game plan by tommorow evening." Jiraya stated. "Now let me go and grab some groceries while you guys get some well-deserved stretching in."

"Naru-to!" [Great idea!] Little Naruto gave a thumbs up.

"Great Now remember the house rules, alright?"

"Okay!" Everyone said in Chibi and whatnot.

Jiraya left the cabin with a smile on his face.

It wasn't long before he heard sounds of playing from inside.

{Hyuga Mansion- 5:00 p.m.-Hiashi's Point of View}

"Huh...now let's see..." I read. "Christina...Katie...Kato & Sato...Inoue...Suzuki...augh! I just can find the right broad!" I threw my black book to the wall and slumped down in my chair. " I checked every section! The **Easy** section, the **Floozy** section, the **F-word** section: I even checked the **G.G.W.B.B **section! I almost forgot that meant: **G**ood **G**od **W**hat a **B**ig **B**ooty!" (2.) I sighed. "Stupid Chicktionary."

"Hiashi-sama!" I heard one of my guards call. "Hiashi-sama!"

"You may enter!" I called.

"Hiashi-sama, I'm sorry to interrupt but it's been 8 hours and we haven't found a trace of Little Neji, Little Hinata, or their companions. What should we do?"

"Eh, just leave 'em be." I sighed. "To be honest, I don't have the time or the patience to deal with that right now. I have more important stuff to deal with right now."

"Yes, Hiashi-sama. Oh, and by the way-" He pulled out a scroll and tossed it to me casually. "the mail carrier told me to stop by and give this to you. He said it was from the Kagè of the Rolling Stone."

"Kagè...Kagè...Kagè...THAT'S IT!" I jumped up in my seat! "That's the answer to all of my problems!" I practically leapt for joy at my memory; it wasn't failing me after all!

"What's it, Hiashi-sama?" The guard asked me.

"Nothing. You just reminded me of something, though. Thanks!" I spared him a small smile.

"Why, you're welcome, Hias-"

"This moment never transpired between us."

"What moment, Hiashi-sama? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Leave my office!"

"Yes, sir." The guard left.

Well, I can't have the Elders thinking i'm going soft, now can I? Anyway, I remembered some very vital and important information about the Kagè's daughter: she wasn't in my book. At least not yet. I stood up and walked over to the wall that I slammed my book against and I picked it up. I then walked over to my phone and picked it up to dial the Kagè's number. I heard a couple of rings, and then he picked up.

"Hello?...Why yes, it's me, Hiashi...yes...wait, you mean you want to re-negotiate the deal? Why, that's great!...Neji... Oh, well about that...don't worry, he's completely under control...as a matter of factly, he's a changed man! So changed, in fact, that he's reconsidering marrying your daughter...of course I'm serious! You'd never think that I would stoop so low to ever go behind his back and arrange his own marriage, now would you?...Now that's what I thought. Listen, Kenichi-sama, thanks for reconsidering and everything. It really makes my day...Yeah...yeah...Mm-hmm..yeah..uh-huh...okay...bye." I hung up and grinned.

"YES! THE WEDDING IS ON, BABY!"

{Washington D.C.-1:00 a.m.-Neji's Point of View}

"Tenten?" I knocked softly on the door. "Tenten, let me in."

A moment later, the door opened and Tenten was standing in the doorway. "Come in." She whispered to me.

I walked in and she shut the door behind me. "Neji, what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see you, that's all." I said before I wrapped my arms around her waist.

I then leaned in to kiss her, but before I could, she put a finger to my lips.

"They won't hear us if we're outside." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I don't care if they hear us."

"And if they ask?" She gave me an inquiring look.

"Then we can just tell them it was Sakura and Sauske." I smirked.

{Jiraya's Cabin-Next morning-Little Neji's Point of View}

"*Yawn!* *Tsk! Tsk!*" I opened my eyes that were clouded with sleep to a Naruto-colored sunrise. It was a glorious one too, with all sorts of yellows, oranges, blues, reds, and pinks. "Wow, what a wonderful sunrise!"

"Naruto!" [Good morning!] The sun greeted me.

"Good morning, sun!" I grinned.

"Wait...Little Neji, I'm not the sun." I heard Little Naruto's voice speak to me.

"Oh." I turned to face him. "Hey, Little Naruto."

"Hey."

"Hey!" Little Hinata woke up. "So, what's cooking, you guys?"

"Cooking?" I sniffed the air. That's when I realized...something was cooking, and it smelled good, too.

"Hey, Chibis! Breakfast is ready!" I heard Jiraya call from the kitchen.

"Breakfast?" Pebbles and Teddy-chan woke up.

"Mm...something smells good." Little Sauske yawned as he sniffed the air.

"*Sniff!* Bacon *sniff!* eggs *sniff!* grits *sniff!* orange juice...IT'S THE WHOLE 9 YARDS!" Little Sakura leapt for joy.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get some breakfast!" I jumped up and ran to the kitchen, with everyone else on my heels.

{Later in the afternoon}

"I have to admit, that was a lot of fun!" I squealed.

After a full day of playing in the backyard, swimming in a secluded pond, playing at the nearby beach, and souvenir shopping(along with listening to a great jazz performance at a local kid(and Chibi) friendly club, who wouldn't agree with me? We even had all the sweets we wanted, and ice cream for goodness sake! After all, on a day like this, who _could_ complain? However, all great things must come to an end(shorter than expected, of course) and now we had to focus on figuring out whether to stay or go home. Which was why we were munching on some great Monte Cristos in the backyard discussing our decisions.

"I think you guys should go home." Jiraya said.

"Awww...but, I don't wanna go home!" Teddy-Bear-Tenten pouted.

"I understand you don't want to leave this paradise, but we just can't keep running for the rest of our lives. You guys stole secrets from the Hyuga Clan, tried to sell them to me, I accepted them anyway, and now we have a cure for the seal. I may have gotten permission to be here, but what the Village Elders don't know is that you guys are with me. Either way, we're all in some really deep shi-"

"Doo-doo? Yeah, I figured." Little Naruto said in Chibi while munching on a dandelion. (3.)

"Um...yeah." Jiraya spoke. "_**Doo-doo**_."

"Ah, well." Little Sauske spoke in Chibi as he stood up. "It was fun while it lasted."

"Aw, c'mon guys! All you guys have to do is ask for your Chibi owners's permission, and you can come back here with me anytime." He smiled a dazzling smile of confidence. "Now, Little Neji...is there a way for you guys to sneak back into the Hyuga Mansion and be undetected until sometime tommorow?"

"I'm not sure about that." Little Hinata spoke up in Chibi. "The Hyugas know the place like the swatsikas on most of their foreheads."

"Except that cave, of course." Pebbles spoke up.

That's when the light bulb in my head went off. The cave, of course!

"Yes...as a matter of factly, there is a way to sneak in undetected." I smirked.

{Back in Konoha-4:45 p.m.}

"Well, here you guys are." Jiraya said as he unzipped the gym bag in front of a couple of bushes in training field #75.

"Don't worry, Jiraya. I know how to navigate myself through these woods. I made some subtle marks to show me where to go so I won't get lost." I smiled.

"Oh, that's smart. Well, best of luck to you rapscallions." He rubbed my hair affectionately.

As soon as he started walking off, I turned back around to face my 5 friends and cousin. They were looking at me for answers and also for me to lead them.

"Well, I sure hope you guys are ready for a long trek home." I sighed. "Little Naruto, you've got the goods, right?"

"Right." Little Naruto pulled out all four scrolls and the salve.

"If anybody asks, then tell them _the excuse_, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Now let's go." I started shoving branches out of the way, snapping them every once in a while. The comfortable silence of grass and twigs crushing beneath our feet, leaves falling, the wind rustling, and the trodding of small feet on lightly packed dirt.

"So Little Neji..." Teddy-chan broke the silence. "How did you find this trail?"

"Oh. I use it whenever I want to go training late at night." I told her.

_'Or when I want to clear my head.' _I thought to myself.

"Wow...you must use this trail pretty often. I just saw a couple of apple cores and a Hershey's bar wrapper a few minutes ago." Little Sauske said quietly.

"Yosh! Little Neji, you know littering is illega- *ouch!*" Pebbles rubbed the back of his head.

"Pebbles, now is really not the time." Little Sakura growled at him.

"Oh, fine. But only 'cause you said so, my Cherry blossom." He then proceeded to rubbing his head again.

The peaceful silence overcame us once more. I took in the sounds of the birds and crickets chirping. I loved nature; it was kind of similar to how my Daddy saw meditation: an out-of-body experience.

"Hey, Little Neji. Look!" My cousin's voice jolted me out of my thoughts. Sure enough, we had reached our destination: the cave was straight up ahead.

"This is it, guys." I yawned. It wasn't until then that I realized that sunset was almost over.

"*Brrrrr!*" Little Sakura shivered. "S-seems l-like we're gonna have to snuggle for some warmth."

"It seems so." Little Naruto's tail wove it's way around Little Hinata's arm.

"That's fine with me." I started to stumble into the cave. To be honest, I was too darn sleepy to care how we were gonna sleep. I simply collapsed on the soft, mossy ground and went straight to sleep.

"Huh," Teddy-chan chuckled. "This must've been an adventure if Little Neji's out cold that fast."

))

U

Author's Block!

Hello again! Now let's get some hints straightened out, shall we?

(1.) Shout outs to my mom for these house rules when it comes to the phone. Quick, simple, and straight to the point. Her rules for cooking a bit different, however.

(2.) This Acronym is form the show: "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" Episode: Take my cousin, please. One of my faves. Check it out on You Tube if you can find it.

(3.) Most grasses contain an acid called Folic Acid that helps cats with tier digestive systems. (Hah! Hah! It's nature's _fiber_!) Although I'm pretty sure that foxes aren't related to the cat family in any way, this does contribute to Little Naruto's digestive system and regulates his diet well.

Wow...that's a lot of footnotes! XD

-Till next time, though

imma stay posted!

Yoshi.C!


	16. Chapter 16

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 16: We're _finally _going home!

"Neji, aren't you excited? We're finally going home!" I exclaimed.

Neji and I were packing up our bags in one of the rooms in the White House. The green room, to be exact. Neji was sitting on the bed with his bags, while I was zipping up my last one.

"Yes. I can't wait to get back home. The first thing I'm gonna do when I get home is make myself some lasagna. Then I'm going to take a long nap." Neji yawned.

"I can't wait to see my Teddy-chan again. She and Little Neji are going to so excited once they see the souviners we bought them." I smiled.

"I know. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces." Neji looked at me and smiled.

"Um, Neji..." I reached out to grasp his hand.

"Yes, Ten?"

I didn't know why, but for some reason I had been feeling a small bit of disquietude inside of me. It was as if I was sensing that something was going to go wrong; I just didn't know what.

"Neji, do you sense something wrong?" I asked him.

"Like something bad is going to happen?" Neji gently pulled me down to sit on his lap. "Yes, I feel it too."

"Neji, what if something **did **go wrong?"

"Don't worry, Ten-chan." Neji took my hand and kissed the back of it. "I don't know what's going to happen, whether if it's for better or for worse, but we'll stick together through it all."

I smiled and kissed him deeply.

'_Thank you, Neji.' _I thought to myself. What I didn't realize it that I had murmured those words on his lips.

"You're welcome, Tenten."

{Hyuga Gardens-2:00 p.m.-Little Neji's Point of View}

"*Yawn!* Well, I guess we better get ready to sneak back into the Compound." I yawned. "So, who's awake?"

"Little Neji, we've been awake for the past...well, ever since morning. We've been waiting for you this whole time!" Little Hinata looked at me.

I wiped the sleep from my eyes. "Wow, really?"

"Yeah. But don't worry, we had a lot of fun looking at the stuff in here." Little Sauske smiled.

"We better get going. Who knows what we'll run into or what we'll have to put up with." I yawned.

"Yeah," Little Hinata ran her fingers through her hair. "My Chibi owner must be worried sick!"

"Let's go, then." I stood up and chuckled to myself. "Who knows. Maybe the guards are actually sober!"

{Inside the Hyuga Compound}

"Man, I was **damn **_**wrong**_!" I laughed. "These guys are more 'Gucci Mane' wasted than ever."

"You said it. They must have been traumatized for not having any scotch in a 16-hr. period." Little Naruto said.

"It's either that or crack. Their eyes are more yellow than the pee I see at my Mom's clinic." Little Sakura snickered.

"Ewwwww!" We all said.

We were almost to our door. Just a few more steps...

"Hey! Who are you?" A burly looking guard who reeked of booze (and maybe weed) growled at us. He blocked the pathway between us and the door.

However, I didn't panic a bit. "Well, you see sir, we are stunt doubles from a movie agency that has kidnapped the real Little Neji, Little Hinata, and their friends. They sent us to try not to arouse any suspicion, but you can keep our secret, right?"

"W-wait? Which agency?" He eyed us suspiciously.

"U-um...Walt Disney!" I exclaimed.

"Well," He gasped. "It is an honor to meet you guys, then! Enjoy your stay! Have fun!" He steeped aside and opened the door for us.

"Why thank you dear sir. We'll make sure we will." We all walked in with smirks on our faces.

As soon as he closed the door and we couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, we jumped for joy.

"YOSH! WE'RE HOME FREE!" Pebbles jumped the highest, almost reaching the ceiling.

"Now all we have to do," I sat down and smiled. "Is wait."

{10:00 p.m.-Neji's room}

"Oh, Chi-biiiiiiiiiisss..." I heard the door crack open. "We're _baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!_"

We all leaped up in excitement! Our Chibi owners were finally back!

"DADDY!" I ran and threw my arms around my Daddy Neji's legs.

"MAMA!" Teddy-Bear-Tenten did the same.

All the other Chibis ran up to their Chibi owners and gave them big, fat hugs.

"So..." Sauske-san spoke up after awhile, Chibi namesake in his arms. "What did you guys do? You must've had a lot of fun." He grinned.

We looked at each other for a quick moment. What were we going to tell them?

It was Little Sakura who broke the silence first. "Saku-Sakura." [We played in the Hyuga gardens]

"Naru-Narutooooooooo!" [We swam in the pond too!]

"We got to have ice cream!" Pebbles grinned.

"Sauske-Sauskeeeeee!" [Some of us even got a free tour of the Hyuga mansion!]

"Well it seems like Hyugas know how to have a good time after all!" Naruto-san laughed.

My Daddy Neji punched him in the back of the head for that, but he laughed anyway.

"Well, I guess we better get going soon." Sakura-san said.

"Saku-Sakura. Sakuraaaaaaa?" [Mama, can't we stay a _little _bit longer? Pleeeeaseee?]

"Oh, alright, but only for a little while. After that, it's straight to bed with you, little one." Sakura told her.

"Alright!" Teddy-Bear-Tenten jumped for joy.

{2 hours later:Teddy-Bear-Tenten's Point-of-View}

It had been two hours since my Mama Tenten's been home. Everyone else who was on the mission stayed for a while, but they left after their Chibis zonked out. The only two people still left were me and my Mama Tenten.

"Oh. We got you guys some souviners. I hope you guys like them." She smiled.

She handed us two presents each. One was medium-sized, and one was small. We opened the presents eagerly.

"Wow! Thanks Mama!" One was a teddy-bear, and the other one was a small stick with a round glass on the other end. I picked it up and showed it to her. "What's this one, mama?"

"Oh. That's a telescope, baby. I didn't know what it was when I first saw it either, but after the guy at the store explained it to me, it's pretty cool. You just pull it out like this," She pulled it out for me, which extended it. "Then you put the smaller end to your eye, and voila! You can see things from far away!"

"Cool!" I exclaimed.

"What's this do, Tenten-san?" Little Neji held his present up.

"Those are binoculars, ice-cream. Those can help you see from far distances too. All you have to do is put your eyes through the small ends. The buttons on the top help you to zoom in and out." She told him.

Wow. Thanks, Tenten-san!" Little Neji hugged the new stuffed bunny he got as a present to his chest.

"Now you two stay here and play with your new toys. Neji and I are going to step out for some fresh air." Tenten looked at Neji-san with lidded eyes. "Isn't that right, _Neji-kun_?"

"If you insist, _milady_." He opened the door for her and bowed as she walked out before he did.

The door shut, and I looked at it as if those strange actions were there.

"Is it just me-" I began.

"-Or was that strange?" He finished. "Oh, well. Let's use our new toys! I know the perfect place to look out of." He pointed out of the window.

{The Hyuga Gardens-Tenten's Point-of-View}

"Neji, c'mon!" I laughed as I dragged him behind me.

The full moon hung over us high in the pitch black sky. The stars seemed to twinkle in understanding and approval.

_'I wonder if the stars get to experience all the love that goes on at midnight?'_ I thought.

"Tenten, why are we doing this?" Neji asked me.

"I don't know." I said almost to myself. "All I know is that it feels right."

"Well, since we're out here, let's make the most of it." Neji stopped running and yanked me towards him, my back facing him. His breath tickled my ear softly. "I can definitely make it worth our while, _Tenten-chan_."

The way he said that sent shivers down my spine. Before I knew what was happening, he turned me around and kissed me so passionately that my mind slipped. I couldn't think straight; I could only...feel. And I liked what I felt, because it felt _good_. I could feel his hands stroking my hips, his arms around me tightening. I felt the way his tongue licked the inside of my mouth in slow, sweet, sweeps. I felt my knees buckle from the kiss; everything that I had relied on for senses was overwhelmed by these feelings. That's when I felt myself back up against something rough and dry, kind of like bark.

_'A tree.'_ I somehow managed to think while Neji managed to press me against it.

"Ten-chan..." His weight pushed against me in all the right places, making me moan happily.

"Mmmmmm-hmmmm?"

"I love you."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again. "I love you too, Neji-kun."

{Neji's room}

"Wow! Look at the full moon. Isn't it beautiful?" I asked Little Neji.

"Yeah, it sure is, and it's even more beautiful with these presents your mama got us." I grinned. "Hey, did you know that the moon had pimples?"

"Those are craters, Little Neji. Craters." I corrected him.

"Yeah. Craters. Anyway, let me try to see if I can peep into the forest." He turned to look at the trees.

"Yeah, you do that."

It was quiet for a little while. Then, Little Neji broke the silence with a loud yelp.

"WOAH!" He nearly jumped up.

"What, Little Neji?"

"L-l-look n-near the t-trees T-teddy-c-chan." He stammered with a...wait, was that a blush on his face?

"Um, okay." I turned to where he was looking.

Then I saw it: my Mama Tenten was making out with his Daddy Neji!

"WOAH!" I gasped. "They're like...**totally** making out!"

"I know." Little Neji said.

"Do you think that our Chibi owners are in love?" I asked him with what may have been a dreamy smile on my face.

"Maybe." He shrugged his shoulders. "After all, they are heavily making out."

"You know..." I sighed. "I really do hope your Daddy Neji loves my Mama Tenten. He seems to make her very, very happy."

"You know what? That isn't a bad idea. Then we'd one big happy family!" Little Neji grinned.

_'Yeah. I like the sound of that.'_ I grinned with him.

I looked out my telescope and gasped. "Little Neji, why is your Chibi owner sticking his hand up My Mama Tenten's shirt!"

"Why is she sticking her hand down his pants!"

After a few more moments of gagging, gasping, and raised eyebrows, we turned away from our spying instruments and pointed accusing fingers at each other.

"MAN, YOUR CHIBI OWNERS' A FREAK!" We both yelled.

)

U

Author's Block!

Hey, guys! I decided I wanted to make this chapter's love scene a bit more graphic. *Sigh!* Unfortunately, I don't have any experience at all. Oh well. I'm only 14. 15 is only a few months away. (C'mon, Sept. 29!)

till next time though,

imma stay posted!

-Yoshi.C!


	17. Chapter 165

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 16.5: Little Neji's Journal entry

_Dear Secret journal,_

_Today I saw my Daddy Neji kiss Teddy-Bear-Tenten's mama! We were playing with the telescope and binoculars that Tenten-san brought from America. (I didn't even think the place existed for real.) AMERICA! Can you believe it? I guess Dog Boy was right, after all._

_Anyway, we were peeping out of the window, looking for something interesting to look at. Then I noticed Tenten-san being pinned up against my Daddy Neji. And guess what? They were kissing! Then I showed Teddy-Bear-Tenten, and she gasped. Then she started smiling._

_"Do you think our Chibi owners are in love?" She asked me._

_"Maybe." I said. "After all, they are heavily making out."_

_"You know..." She sighed. "I really do hope your Daddy Neji loves my Mama Tenten. He seems to make her very, very happy."_

_"You know what? That isn't a bad idea. Then we'd one big happy family!" I grinned._

_And I meant it. I really did._

_Love,_

_Little Neji._


	18. Chapter 17

The Key to One's Soul

By: SuperHyuga Yoshi-chan

Chapter 17: Everything returns to normal...Psych! (Nothing's ever normal in fanfiction, remember?)

It's been three days since our favorite Konoha Ninja came back from a trip to America. It's also been three days since Neji and Tenten's relationship has been discovered by their Chibis. However, they don't know this. Don't worry! Their relationship is in safe hands. (Or so to speak...)

"Iruka! Get off of that **damn** **English Facebook**page! These Chibis are going crazy!"

"Gosh dammit, Kakashi, i'm coming!"

{Chibi Camp Daycare: Lunch hour- Little Neji's Point of View}

Now my Daddy Neji knows a lot of things. He knows how to count to264 by exponents and knows how to tie shoes. He even knows most of the clans most secret jutsu. Not only that, but he's one of the only Hyugas that knows how to make lasagna. To back that up, he knows how to make it without burning it.

However, if there's one thing my Daddy Neji doesn't know; it's that Teddy-Bear-Tenten and I know about him liking Tenten-san. And the longer we kept it a secret, the more we felt like we had to do something about it. So we decided to discuss it during lunch beak during Chibi Camp.

{Lunch at the secret spot}

"But the thing I don't get is: why didn't they tell us anything?" Teddy-Bear-Tenten whined. "Mama Tenten and I always swapped secrets during rainy days. She never told me this, and it's like, the juiciest secret ever!"

"I know. I hate when my Chibi owner keeps stuff from me too." I said.

I felt really hurt that my Daddy Neji would keep something like this away from me.

"Maybe they were afraid that we would tell." Teddy-chan suggested.

"Huh? Why would they be afraid of that?" I asked.

"Maybe they're afraid of the wrong people finding out somehow. Trust me, this kind of stuff ruins celebrities in America Well at least that's what Itty-Bitty-Ino told me." Teddy-chan handed me a chocolate chip cookie.

I nibbled on the chocolate chip cookie slowly as I handed Teddy-chan a Reses cup. What does she mean by the wrong people finding out? Who could possibly hold so much ill intent, hatred, and malice towards my Daddy Neji's and Tenten-san's happiness?

"I don't think that the general public would care." Teddy-chan shrugged as she took a bite out of the Reses cup I gave her.

"So who would?" We both questioned out loud.

Suddenly, our heads jerked up in remembrance!

"THE HYUGA HEADS!" We both shouted.

"They're the ones that got us running around in circles with this stupid seal and whatnot!" Teddy-chan sighed.

"Of course! Why didn't I see _that_coming before? Only people with so much malice, ill-intent, and expert nosiness would care so much." I smacked myself in the head for being to stupid. "I have the Byakugan for crying out loud! I should've seen this coming about 1/4 of a mile away."

"Hold up a second, Little Neji! Don't beat yourself up over this yet. Not a lot of people would've seen that coming." Teddy-chan swallowed the rest of her Reses cup and patted my back. "But the only thing I wanna know is: why do _they _care so much?"

"Well, my Daddy Neji told me once that ever since he was twelve, he's had beau's, honeys, and hoes lining up to get with him. The Hyuga clan has been trying to hook him up with someone rich, elite, and fancy ever since then." I told her.

"It's like a million damsels trying to fit into a glass slipper that's not even there." Teddy-chan rolled her eyes. "It makes me sick."

"Yeah, but none of them were good enough for myDaddy Neji! So I decided to start scaring them all away." I smiled. Then I looked down in disappointment. "When they found out that I was the one who was ruining their chances of earning more money, they..." I breathed in slowly, trying to calm myself.

"They did what, Little Neji?"

"They locked me away in a cage. Literally. I remember when Agito-san, one of the Hyuga elders, said 'since you like to meddle in affairs of the Hyuga clan, you will be caged to the same fate as your _precious_Daddy Neji.' " Somehow, a tear ran down my cheek.

"Oh Little Neji. I'm so sorry." Teddy-chan wiped my tear away. "I can't even begin to imagine what that's like."

"They've been trying to set him up with people inside the clan ever since. Each time, they tell my Daddy Neji that the Hyuga guards will watch over me. Except the Hyuga guards like to poke at me with sticks through _that cage_. And sometimes Hiashi throws me inside the closet, and it's dark." I shivered. I had never told anyone about the cage, not even my Daddy Neji.

"So that is what you were really doing in Hiashi's closet." Teddy-chan gasped. "But there is still that occasional outsider. Like Akemi, right?"

"Right."

"Little Neji, you really need to tell your Chibi owner."

"I know I should, but..." I gulped. "One of the Hyuga heads told me that if I did, they would activate my Daddy Neji's cage. They said they would make it hurt really bad. I didn't know what they were talking about back then, but it sounded scary, so I kept my mouth shut." I told her.

"Well don't worry Little Neji. Now that we have a reversal for the Caged Bird seal, we won't let them hurt your Daddy Neji. Trust me. But you still have to tell your Daddy Neji about the Cage."

"Alright. I will. However, should we ask them if they do like each other. I'm tired of acting ignorant; it's practically killing me!" I threw my hands up in the air.

Teddy-chan laughed at my antics and grinned. "It's only been three days, Little Neji. But of course you can; 'cause so am I. But don't forget to tell him about the Cage." I reminded.

In the distance, Iruka's 'Lunch-was-supposed-to-end-5-minutes-ago' bell was tinkling in the distance.

"Oh crap!" Teddy-chan grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "C'mon! Let's go or else we'll be late!"

{Back at Tenten's place: Teddy-Bear-Tenten's Point of View}

That afternoon, me and my Mama Tenten were eating dango in the living room. For some reason, she was glowing-no, _radiating_ with happiness. She kept on giggling to herself, singing, daydreaming humming and more. I decided that now was the best time to approach her with the question.

"Mama Tenten, why are you so happy?" I asked her.

"I'm just so glad to be back home and see you again." She took a bite out of her dango. "Why'd you ask?"

"Usually you're not this happy." I said. "You'd usually be acting normal, but ever since you've come home you've been blushing, giggling, daydreaming, humming, and singing Alicia Keys."

"So? What's wrong with that?" She asked me.

"Mama, you hate Alicia Keys. (1.) " I told her.

"Oh? Really?"

I sighed and nearly rolled my eyes. Is this how love messes with your head?

"Mama?" I looked at the said Chibi owner.

"Yes?"

"Do you love Neji-san?"

My mama nearly choked on her dango.

"What's that supposed to mean?" My Daddy Neji gave me a questioning look.

"I mean, look at yourself Daddy! You're singing Ne-Yo, humming -before you know it, you'll be dancing like Chris Brown!"

"N-no I'm not!" He blushed.

"Fine. If you say so. But ever since you've come back, you've been different. It's like your glowing or something." I told him.

_'Why doesn't he just come out and tell the truth?' _I thought to myself.

"So do you love her?" I asked him.

"Well..."

"It's complicated." My mama picked me up and placed me on her lap. "Let's just say that I really, _really,_ _**really**_ like him, but I just can't express it."

"Why not? What's so complicated about telling him how you feel?" I asked.

"Well I can, but I can't be as open as I want to there's his family, and if they knew that I lo-liked him, then they would separate us for good."

_'Oh yeah. That's right.' _I thought.

"And, well, Neji...he's just...he isn't-"

"Your type?" I asked her.

"No. It's not that at all! It's just that usually i'm not good at expressing my feelings. I'm scared of people taking me for granted and using me for my talents."

"Oh." I looked down at my feet. I had no idea that my Daddy Neji felt that way.

"But Tenten-chan isn't like that at all. She's different. She actually cares about me. And when she smiles-"

"-he lights up my whole world. And when..." My mama licked her lips and looked away from me. She had a blush on her face.

"When he what, Mama Tenten?" I asked her.

Nothing, baby. The point is, I really, _really,_ _**really**_ like him. That's it. Okay?"

"Okay Daddy. I understand." I started to walk out the room. "But are you sure you don't love her?"

"I...I-"

"-don't know."

TT TT

)

n

Author's Block

The poor Chibi owners are having a difficult time telling their Chibis about their feelings for one another. Poor guys...

-till next time though

imma stay posted!

Yoshi-C!.


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